Sasami Masaki and the Keys of Myth
by Kibb1
Summary: Sasami begins to manifest Tsunami's powers.
1. The Missing Water

I am not making any money off of this project.  Freddy the Freeloader has more money than I do.  I do not own Tenchi Muyo or Harry Potter.  I own only these writings and any original characters herein.

Enjoy.

Sasami Masaki and the Keys of Myth

A _Tenchi Muyo!/Harry Potter _fanfiction

By Kevin Grundhofer

**Chapter One**

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The missing water

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          It was five in the morning and Sasami couldn't sleep.  Her eleventh birthday had been a few days ago but she didn't feel any older.  She lay on her futon staring at the ceiling and trying to convince herself that she was indeed another year older.  She wiggled her toes, rolled her head from side to side and waved her hands in front of her face, testing each limb individually for any changes.   But nothing felt or looked any different.  She thought about how she looked in all her old pictures and tried to remember how she had felt when they'd been taken.  _Did I feel so small when I was that young?_  She thought.  _I don't think I did._  She actually could not think of any time she'd ever felt like she was growing up; it just sort of happened.

          She looked over to where her sister Ayeka was sleeping, who still managed to look like a princess even though she was softly snoring and drooling a little.  Sasami giggled to herself as she remembered how Ayeka had acted during her birthday party.  She wondered what her Father would say if he heard about that.  On the pillow beside her, Ryo-ohki 'meowed' softly and moved to a more comfortable position.  She wondered if Ryo-ohki ever worried about growing up, and what it would feel like to turn into a spaceship.  That got her thinking about Washu.  She was over twenty-thousand years old!  One time Sasami had tried to count that far, but she could barely make it to five thousand before she gave up.  She rolled over and stared at the wall for a while.  Her mind kept wandering from one person in her life to the next.  She thought about Ryoko, and if she even grew at all.  She thought about Mihoshi and if she missed her family.  And of course she thought about Tenchi.  She hoped he would never change.__

By the time five-thirty rolled around Sasami still didn't feel any older and she still couldn't sleep so she gave up trying.  She thought about getting up to start fixing breakfast when she remembered that one of her birthday presents had been a reprieve from all housework for a week.  She decided to take a long bath instead.  She gathered her things, being careful not to wake Ayeka or Ryo-ohki, and headed for the onsen.  After she entered the huge, floating structure, she took a long look in the mirror.  What she saw was no different from any other morning; the same long blue hair bundled in its night wraps, same freckles, pink eyes and green forehead markings.

          Sasami sighed and began to prepare to get in the nice, hot water.  After she had scrubbed clean and wrapped herself in a towel she slowly eased into the steaming water.  She was usually asleep or cooking at this time in the morning, and rarely took a bath this early, if ever.  It was very relaxing.  _I could get used to this,_ she thought.

~~~

          The first thing Sasami noticed was that it was hard to breath, then she realized that it was hot.  She opened her eyes.  Big mistake.  She clamped them shut against the painfully bright light and rubbed them hard.  She was just wondering what she was doing outside when her brain caught up with her senses and told her that she was in the bath.  She slowly opened her eyes again, it still hurt, but at least this time it was bearable.  The sun was high enough to fully light the onsen, but only barely, so it was shining right in her eyes.  She turned her head and rubbed her eyes one more time to work the sleep out of them.  She tried to remember what she was doing in the bath this early in the morning.  Wasn't she supposed to be making breakfast?

          "Oh my god," she gasped, bringing her hands up to her mouth, "I fell asleep!"  She climbed out of the steaming water and ran over to where her bathrobe and other things were set.  She threw off her wrap and started drying herself in front of the mirror.  "What time is it anyway, I wish there was a clock in here," she mumbled as she finished drying and put on the robe.  She turned around to get her hairbrush out of the basket when she saw the clock hanging on the wall.  "Who put that there?" she asked no one in particular.  It read only a little after seven.  The others would only just be getting up, so she had plenty of time to get ready.

          She began combing her hair, no small task considering how much of it there was.  It took a lot of work to keep it from getting all tangled up like a bird's nest, especially while washing it, but Sasami didn't mind.  Her hair was her favorite thing about her.  She liked its color; it reminded her of her mother.  She had tried wearing it in a ponytail like her mother's once, but decided it made her look silly.  She also tried wearing it down one time, with a clasp partway down to keep it all in place.  Everyone liked it and Tenchi said it made her look like Tsunami.  That made her stomach turn over a few times, so she never wore it that way again.  In the end she decided that the best way was the way she had been doing it all along, so there was no reason to change it.  At least not for a while.

          She finished combing her hair and dropped the brush back in the basket.  As she reached for the red berets she always wore (also one of her favorite things) she noticed that her hands were all wrinkled.  "Oh man, I got way to much water this morning," she muttered.

          A small tingle ran up her spine as a slight breeze blew past.  She shivered and turned to look at the door, but it was still closed.  She tightened her robe and began to gather all her things up in her arms when she noticed something odd.  She could not hear any water.  The onsen had many pools at different levels, creating a whole series of waterfalls.  After spending any time in the floating bath-house you grew quite accustomed to the noise and barely even heard it.  In fact, it was very relaxing.  This made the current silence seem very loud.  Sasami put the basket down and slowly walked towards the pools.  She already knew what she would see, but that didn't make it seem any less strange.

          There was not a single drop of water in any of the pools.

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          He knew it would happen sooner or later, as much as he wished it wouldn't.  He was actually surprised it hadn't happened yesterday or even the day before.  The past few mornings had gone well enough, with Washu and Mihoshi preparing the food, Ayeka setting the table, and Ryoko napping on the futons as they aired out on the roof or lazing in the onsen until all the chores were done.  Tenchi had taken it upon himself to do the dishes and make sure everything went smoothly (mostly by keeping Ayeka and Ryoko away from each other), but he knew he couldn't keep the peace forever.  So it was with helpless acceptance that he found himself lying dazed on the floor as Ayeka and Ryoko sized each other up.

          This morning Ryoko had decided that she had wanted to help in the kitchen, "To make something special for you," she told Tenchi.

          Ayeka had been on the other side of the room getting the table ready for breakfast.  "If you start cooking, the only thing Tenchi will get is stomach cramps," she said under her breath.

          "What was that?" growled Ryoko.

          "I was just saying that the only thing you're good at is destroying things."  Ayeka said, standing up and walking towards Ryoko and Tenchi.

          Ryoko glared at her and then hopped behind Tenchi and wrapped her arms around him.  "Tenchi," she whined, looking over his shoulder with huge, water-filled eyes, "you think I can cook, don't you?" 

          He tried to think of an appropriate reply, but all he could come up with was, "Oh …  uhm … err … I think … "

          Ayeka chuckled.  "Oh please, the only thing you can make is a warm bottle of sake."

          Ryoko glared at Ayeka.  "I didn't ask you.  Besides, I believe the last time you tried to heat up some soup you burned the bottom of the pan."

          Ayeka's smile disappeared.  "The timer was broken!  And at least I don't start drinking during my morning bath!"

          "Unless it's snowing, you mean."

          "You gave me no choice that day!"

          "Come on, Princess, I've seen you, you can pack it away with the best of them.  Or have you already forgotten Sasami's party? I wouldn't be surprised if you have."  Ryoko chuckled.

          Ayeka turned four different shades of purple.  "How dare you insinuate that I'm a drunkard you ... you ... you monster!"

          Ryoko pushed Tenchi away and he went crashing to the floor.  She didn't notice.  "I wasn't insinuating anything, and who are you calling 'monster' little miss perfect."

          The two women glared at each other.  Tenchi was picking himself up off of the floor when the kitchen door slid open and Washu walked through carrying a tray of food.  She was closely followed by Mihoshi and Ryo-ohki, who was in her humanoid form.

          "Breakfast is ready," Washu said.  She set the tray down on the table and walked over to where Ryoko and Ayeka were fighting.  "Okay you two, break it up," she said, grabbing each of them by an ear.

          "OW!  OW!  OW!  What did you have to do that for!  Washu?"  Ryoko cried as Washu led them to the table.  Washu deposited them at the table and sat down next to her daughter.

          "Now now, Ryoko," she said, "don't go ruining everyone's breakfast by fighting, at least wait until we've eaten."

          "Miss Washu!  I would appreciate it if you stayed out of our business."  Ayeka said as she rubbed her ear and glared at Ryoko.

          "She started it," Ryoko said, sticking her tongue out at Ayeka.

          Tenchi finished dusting himself off and said, "has anyone seen Sasami this morning?"

          Ayeka thought for a second.  "No, now that you mention it, and she wasn't in bed when I got up this morning."

          "Oh no," said Mihoshi putting her hands over her mouth, "do you think she's in trouble?"

          "No, you," said Washu.  She grabbed Mihoshi by the shirt and pulled her down to the empty seat next to her.  "She's probably just taking a bath.  Ayeka can go tell her breakfast's ready."

          At that moment the dining room door slid open and Sasami walked in.  She was still in her bathrobe and her hair was down, she had a dazed look on her face.  Ryo-ohki ran over to her.  She hugged Sasami's legs and looked up at her with a smile.  Tenchi was about to ask her if anything was wrong when she shook her head and said.

          "Uhm, Miss Washu, I think you should come look at this."

~~~

          Tenchi could not believe his eyes.  He was standing in the girl's side of the onsen looking at the completely dry pools.  Not one drop was left.  The bottoms of the pools weren't even damp.

          "Sasami, what happened here?" He asked the princess.

          "I don't know. One minute there was water, and the next it was gone."

          Tenchi nodded.  He looked over at Washu who was busy typing away on the computer that was floating in front of her.  He could see her face though the screen.  She was frowning at something so he decided the question that was forming in his head could wait.

          "Did you accidentally pull the plug?" Mihoshi asked.  "Sometimes I do that when I'm taking a bath."   She was standing in the bottom of the large main pool looking around her in confusion.

          "No, I was standing over by the mirror when I noticed that I couldn't hear the water anymore."  Sasami replied.

          "Do you have any ideas as to what could have caused this, Miss Washu?" asked Ayeka.  She was standing near the edge of the same pool Mihoshi was in.

          Washu looked up at her, "Well, I can tell you what didn't happen.  For starters she couldn't have pulled the plug, it's on the other side of the room.  Besides, the ground is too dry, it would take hours for all the water that was left to dry out.  Which also means it couldn't have evaporated.  If Sasami was in the water only minutes before it disappeared, that rules out the possibility of a leak as well."  She started typing away at her computer again.

          Ryoko floated over to Washu from the pool she had been looking at.  "So what did happen?  How could it have just disappeared?"

          Washu waved a distracted hand at her and said, "If you would be quiet, that's what I'm trying to figure out."

          "Well, excuse me," Ryoko grumbled under her breath.  She turned and floated back to the pool she had been studying earlier.

          Washu typed a few more commands into her computer and then turned to Sasami.  "Now, I need you to tell me everything you were doing before the water disappeared.  Start from the beginning.  And remember, even the little things may be important, so don't leave anything out."

           Sasami thought for a second.  "Well, I fell asleep in the water.  I must have been there for about an hour because when I woke up the sun was shining in my eyes.  After that I got out and dried off.  I was fixing my hair when I noticed I couldn't hear the waterfalls anymore.  That's when I saw that the water was gone and came to get you."

          Washu typed something on her computer.  She looked around and pointed at the mirror near the entrance.  "Is that where you were?"

          Sasami nodded.

          "And you're sure you left nothing out?"

          She nodded again.

          "Okay!  That's all I need here.  I should be able to figure this out.  I already have a few theories, but they need to be tested.  And Sasami, I'll need you down in my lab a little later for a few minor tests."

          At that Ayeka tuned on Washu and said, "Miss Washu, I will not allow you to hook Sasami up to one of your insane machines like she's some experiment of yours!  It's bad enough when you do it to Lord Tenchi"  Tenchi couldn't disagree with her on that one.

          Washu put her hands up and grinned at Ayeka.  "Don't worry!  I'll treat her just like she's my own daughter."

          "That's exactly what I'm worried about!"

          Tenchi glanced at Ryoko, she was down in the pool with Mihoshi, apparently not paying any attention to what was being said.

          Suddenly Sasami gave out a little gasp and said, "Oh, Miss Washu!  I forgot to ask, who put the new clock on the wall?  I noticed it when I was drying off."

          Ayeka and Washu both turned to look at Sasami.  "Huh?  What new clock?" asked Washu.

          "The one on the wall across from the mirror, over there."  Sasami said, pointing towards the entrance.

          Washu looked over to where Sasami was pointing.  "Well, I sure didn't put it up.  I'd never use a crude piece of equipment like that.  Hey!  Ryoko!  Did you put this up?"

          Ryoko materialized next to Washu.  "No need to yell, Mom."  She said sarcastically.  "I can hear, you know."  She looked at the clock and thought for a moment.  "Nope, never seen it before."

          Mihoshi climbed out of the pool and looked at everybody.  "What are you all looking at now?"  She followed everyone's gaze over to the wall.  "Oh!  Who put up the new clock?"

          "That's a good question," replied Ayeka, "because I sure didn't."

          The girls all looked at Tenchi.  His stomach dropped to his feet and he backed away a few steps.  "Don't look at me," he said, his voice higher than he intended.  "I never use that door, you know that!"

          Washu stretched her arms out and cracked her knuckles.  "Well, what's one more mystery to a genius like me?"  She brought up her computer again and typed a few commands into it.  It beeped and whizzed for a few seconds before disappearing.  She put her hands behind her head and said, "Well, I'll be in my lab if anyone needs me.  Come on down in about an hour, Sasami."  With that, she left

          "Come on Sasami," Ayeka said, "let's go get you dressed."

          Sasami nodded and followed her sister out of the bath-house.

          "Hey!  Wait for me!"  cried Mihoshi as she trotted after the two princesses.

          Tenchi was about to follow the others out when he felt Ryoko's arms form around his chest.  "Tenchi," Ryoko whispered in his ear, "We're all alone."

          He groaned.

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          Sasami had to admit that she was nervous.  She had seen Washu giving a few tests to Tenchi before.  And while he always seemed fine afterwards, it looked like they were very...  embarrassing.  She really hoped Washu wouldn't need her to take off her clothes and get hooked up to that machine.  That was why she was glad Tenchi wasn't there with her; she would just die if he saw her hooked up to that machine in nothing but her underwear.  It wasn't that he didn't want to go, he did, but she had asked him to stay behind so he reluctantly agreed.  Her sister Ayeka was a different story, however.  Nothing she said could change her mind.  It actually made her feel a little better, knowing Ayeka was there and would stop Washu from doing anything to crazy or unnecessary.  Ryo-ohki was with her too.  She was always with her, perched atop her head and meowing away, or in her humanoid form helping in the kitchen.  She knew she was probably overreacting, that Washu would probably only put that funny looking yellow ball on her head, and that would be it.  But she also knew how Washu could get when given something new to study, like Tenchi.

          She was surprised that Washu had never tested her after everyone learned about the original Sasami's accident.  It still made her feel a little sick to think about it, even after all these years.  She had fallen off of that bridge and she had died.  How or why _she _was here, she really didn't know.  She only knew that Tsunami had something to do with it.  And now Tsunami was always with her.  She did know that someday she and Tsunami would be the same, one person.  That worried her too, the thought of becoming someone else.  But every time she thought about that she had to remind herself that she was not even the original Sasami, that she was only something made to look and act like Sasami by Tsunami.  Whenever she started thinking too much about it and got depressed, she reminded herself that her sister and everyone else still loved her.  That always made her feel better, but it still didn't change anything.  Sasami forced herself to stop thinking along those lines.  It only made her more nervous.

          She and Ayeka found Washu in the large, well-lit portion of her lab.  That made Sasami feel a lot better.  Whenever Washu was testing Tenchi they were down in the dark parts with all the machines and experiments.  Sasami saw no sign of any testing equipment anywhere.  Washu was sitting on her floating cushion and studying some complicated looking charts and numbers spread over three computer monitors.  She was so intent on whatever it was she was studying that she didn't hear them come in.  After a few moments Ayeka gave a little cough.  Washu jumped and turned around.

          "Oh!  It's you!  Has it been an hour already?"

          "Actually, it's been three," said Ayeka.  "Since you never called for Sasami we decided to wait a little and see if you could figure out what happened without her."

          "I see.  Well, you were right about one thing, I did need the extra time.  This is one doozy of a mystery.  I think I'm close to figuring it out though.  The bit about the clock helped put a few of the pieces together, I think."  She hopped up out of the cushion and put up a finger.  "But!  Before I can prove anything, I still need a few readings from you," she said, looking at Sasami and grinning.

          Sasami shuddered and held Ryo-ohki close.  "You're not going to hook me up to that machine you always have poor Tenchi on, are you?"

          Ayeka was about to say something to Washu, but before she could Washu laughed.

          "No, Sasami.  I only put Tenchi in that thing to tease him.  I would never do that to you."  She bent down and looked Sasami in the eyes.  "All I need to do is put that little yellow ball on your head, okay?"

          Sasami instantly felt better about the whole thing and she smiled and nodded at Washu. "Uhm-hm"

          Washu stood up and clapped once.  "OKAY!  let's do this!"

          A large, comfortable looking chair rose up out of the ground next to Sasami.  She climbed into it.  A hole appeared in the air next to Washu and she reached into it and pulled out a round object the size of a small beach ball.  It was yellow with two black eyes and a mouth on it.  It had two small feet on the bottom.  Washu placed it on Sasami's head.

          "Now, just sit still and do as I say."  Washu said.  Sasami gave a little nod.  Washu sat back down on her cushion and typed a few commands into her computer.  The cushion and computer turned around so that Washu was facing Sasami.  All the screens but the middle one disappeared.  Some charts popped up and a little crab said "GO!"

          Washu had her perform a series of actions like smiling, frowning, laughing, talking and closing her eyes.  After a few minutes Washu had all she needed.  When the ball was put back in subspace, she typed away at her computer while Sasami and Ayeka waited.  Sasami stayed in the chair.

          "Little Washu," Sasami said after a few minutes.

          "Yes, Sasami?" said Washu, without looking up from the screen.

          "Why did you need to test me?  Do you think I made the water disappear?"

          "Yes, Sasami.  That's exactly what I think.  I also think that you are the one who put that clock on the wall."

          The clock surprised her, though she didn't know why.  She had already thought the same thing earlier.  "But, how?  I thought the clock was already there."

          "Miss Washu," Ayeka said.  "How can you possibly think Sasami could do anything of the sort?  She never has before."

          "Let me rephrase that," Washu said, turning around to look at them.  "I don't really think Sasami did it.  More like Tsunami did it."

          Ayeka gasped and covered her mouth.  Sasami thought she was going to be sick.

          "I think you're wrong, Ayeka, about Sasami never doing anything like this before.  I don't know all the details, but you remember the Kagato incident, right?  It is my understanding that Sasami stayed behind on earth while you, Tenchi and Mihoshi went to save Ryoko, right?"

          Ayeka could only nod.  Sasami knew where Washu was going with this.  She had hoped that the others would forget about her part in the whole thing, and for a while she thought they had.  Tenchi at least had never mentioned it.  Of course he had told them about how Tsunami had saved his life, but he had never mentioned Sasami.  No one had ever asked her what she had been doing there, and she figured they thought she had gotten on her ship when Kagato had attacked the Earth.  Now she was not so sure.

          Washu continued.  She looked at Ayeka and asked, "Did you ever wonder how Sasami got on the ship _Tsunami_ in the first place?  Or how it just happened to be in the right place at the right time?  At the time, I just chalked it up as another one of the many mysteries of Jurai, Tsunami in particular, and thought little more of it.  Besides, I was happy to finally be free from Kagato; and I had Tenchi and his Light Hawk wings to study.  Then Sasami here told us about what happened to her when she was a child on Jurai, and we learned of her connection to Tsunami.  I began to suspect there was a little more involved in that incident than I first thought.  And now today we have this case of the disappearing water, where the only person present at the time was Sasami."  She turned and looked at Sasami with kind eyes.  "Sasami, dear.  Do you want to tell us what happened the day Kagato appeared?  It would really help me figure out what happened today."

          She didn't, not really.  But she couldn't see any real reason not to.  Of course, she wasn't exactly sure of the details herself, half the time she had only been barely conscious of what had been happening.  But she did know enough to know she could never have done it without Tsunami's help.  She decided to tell them what she knew, especially if it would help Washu figure out what was happening.

          She looked at her lap, where Ryo-ohki was comfortably napping, and began to speak.  "A little while after everyone left, I suddenly got the terrible feeling that if I didn't do something then Tenchi was going to die.  I didn't know what else to do, so I ran to Brother Yosho's tree, Funaho.  When I got there, I said something; I don't remember what, and then I was on the _Tsunami_."

          Ayeka looked down at the floor.  "Washu, could I have a seat, please?" she asked.  Washu nodded and a seat appeared next to her.  Ayeka sat down and looked at Sasami.  "Did you find Lord Tenchi?"

          Sasami nodded, "Yes, he was hurt real bad, almost dead.  Azaka and Kamidake were protecting him, and Ryu-oh was keeping him alive, but they couldn't save him.  After that I can't remember anything until Kagato tried to capture us, but I do know that Tsunami saved Tenchi and sent him to Kagato's ship.  You know what happened after that."

          "Yes, we do," Ayeka said softly, "Kagato almost captured you and the _Tsunami_, but Lord Tenchi stopped him."  After a short pause she leaned forward and looked at her sister.  "Sasami, why didn't you tell us this sooner?  Surely Tenchi must have known a little about it.  Why didn't he ever say anything?"

          Sasami only shook her head.  She felt like she was going to cry.  Why, she didn't know.  This was nothing like the times she told Ayeka or her parents about the accident.  But it was another little secret about herself that, until now, no one else knew.  "I don't think Tenchi knew what to think, and he only ever talked to Tsunami.  I don't know what they said."  She also knew that Tenchi was far too polite to ask her about it unless she brought up the subject; which she never did.

          Washu stood up and walked over to Sasami.  She leaned down and gave her a hug.  "Thank you, Sasami.  I know that wasn't easy, but now I have more than enough information.  I should be able to give you an answer in a little while.  If you want, you can stay here, but it will be real boring."

          "That's okay," Sasami said.  She realized that she was very tired, even though it wasn't even lunchtime.  "I think I'm going to go take a nap."

          "I think I'll leave as well," said Ayeka.  "Thank you, Miss Washu, for all your hard work."

          "It's nothing," Washu grinned.   She clasped her hands in front of her and grinned.  "And call me 'Little Washu', won't you please?"

          Ayeka grimaced a bit and Sasami gave out a little giggle.  Washu grinned at them one more time before sitting back down on her cushion and typing away on her computer.  She was engrossed within seconds.  The two sisters walked out of the lab together and headed up the stairs towards their bedroom.  When they reached the door, Sasami turned and faced Ayeka.

          "Ayeka?" she said.

          "Yes?  What is it?"

          "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone what was said today."

          Ayeka looked down at her and smiled softly.  "Of course, Sasami.  Are you going to be okay?"

          Sasami gave her sister a little smile and nodded. "Yes.  I just want to be alone for a little while.  Will you wake me when Washu has an answer?"

          "Of course I will.  Now you get some rest, it's been a long morning."  She hugged Sasami and then tuned and walked back down the hall.

          Sasami closed the door and went to the closet to get her futon down.  She didn't even bother with a pillow or covers.  She lay down on the thick matt and was asleep within seconds.

**End of Chapter**

**One**


	2. Mirrors and Phone Calls

**Chapter Two**

****

Mirrors and Phone Calls

        She woke up crying.  The dream was fading fast and she wasn't stopping it.  There had been a man at a castle, the castle was burning and the man was laughing.  Before long that was gone as well and all that was left was the terrible feeling that had woken her.  She wanted to go to Ayeka or Tenchi for comfort.  Every time she had one of these dreams one of them had always been there to make her feel better.  But her last one had been over a year ago, and she was getting too old to go crying to someone whenever she had a bad dream.

          She got up off of her futon, wiped her eyes and straightened out her bright green and yellow clothes. She then folded and put away the futon.  A quick glance at the clock (which had been there for quite some time, she noted) told her it was a little after one thirty in the afternoon.  As she walked past Ayeka's wardrobe she saw her reflection in the mirror.  Her hair was a tangled mess and her eyes were red from crying.  She sighed and sat down on the little stool in front of the mirror.  She found a brush and went to work on her hair for the second time that morning.  Her bangs were fine, but some of her hair had pulled away from the berets and was sticking out at funny angles.  She took the berets off and let her hair fall free (so much as it could in its current state) and began to comb out the tangles. It was quite a bit more difficult this time around because her hair was dry and her hands were still shaking from the dream.

          By the time her hair was tangle free her hands had quit shaking and her eyes were no longer red. The terrible feeling that the dream had left behind was almost completely gone.  She looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled.  A thought struck her and she decided to leave her hair down for the time being.  She was digging through her sister's things looking for a clasp when a small chill ran up her back.  She sat up straight and shivered.  "Not again," she moaned.  She looked around the room, trying to see what she had done this time.  She didn't need Washu to tell her that she was the one who had made the water disappear.  She couldn't find anything different about the bedroom so she turned back to the mirror with a relieved sigh.

          Sasami started.  Staring back at her with an amused grin on her face was Tsunami.  She found herself staring back.  It had been well over a year since she had seen Tsunami face to face.  She had not realized how much she was starting to look like the goddess: especially now, with her hair down.  Tsunami's face was more mature and she didn't have any freckles, but the only real difference between them was the marks on their foreheads.  Tsunami's were round while Sasami's were triangular.

          "Hello, Sasami," Tsunami appeared to be speaking, but Sasami heard the words in her mind.

          Seeing Tsunami so suddenly after everything else that had happened earlier that morning brought all the feelings and emotions she had only just brought under control flooding back and she felt like crying again.  Tsunami must have sensed this, because her face softened.

          "I'm sorry it's been so long since we've talked face to face.  I know what you've been through today and how hard it's been for you."

          "Do you know how I did those things?"

          "Yes, that is the reason I decided to come to you like this.  Most of the time I can comfort you and explain things to you from inside.  But with everything that has happened today and the events you have had to recall, I felt a more direct explanation was appropriate."

          "So you're going to tell me how I made all the water disappear?  And that clock?  Washu thinks I made that show up, too."

          "I'll tell you what I can," Tsunami took a breath before continuing.  "I know it's not something you like to think about, but you know that you and I will eventually be one person.  Besides letting you know that this would happen, I never really talked to you about this before now because I knew your feelings on the matter and I felt that time was on our side."

          At these words Sasami cringed slightly.  Tsunami was right, of course, it was not a subject she liked to think about.  Even so, it had been on her mind a lot recently; especially today.

          "The first thing I need to tell you; and you must understand this, is that you _are_ the real Sasami.  You  did not die that day, but you survived by assimilating with me."

          Sasami was shocked.  "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

          "If I had told you sooner you would not have understood.  Death is not an easy thing to understand, especially for one so young.  At the time what you needed to understand was that you were loved, no matter what.  And up until recently, that was enough."

          Now she was really confused.  "But if I wasn't dead, then why did you need to merge with me?  Tenchi's injuries were far worse, but you didn't need to in order to save him."

          "I did give him a part of me, but that is a question that will have to wait until later, I'm afraid.  Just know that it was necessary at the time.  If I had not, then you would have died."

          Sasami didn't understand, but decided to let the subject go for the moment.  She needed some time to think about what Tsunami had just told her.  She _was_ the real Sasami!  That meant that Ayeka was her real sister and her parents were really hers as well!

          Tsunami was not finished.  "You wanted me to tell you how you made the water disappear?"

           She nodded.  The revelations about her identity had driven that from her mind.  

          "You know that you have some special powers because of me.  Your dreams are one of these.  It was also one of these that allowed you to transport to our ship and save Tenchi.  Unfortunately you have never had any conscious control over these powers.  It appears that as you and I are becoming one, more of my powers are becoming available to you.  However, you still have no control over these new powers.  So, when you found yourself thinking about the time, a clock appeared.  The same thing happened with the water; you thought you had gotten to much, so it left, just not in the way your subconscious intended."

          Sasami's mind was still reeling, so it took a little time to process this new information.  "But, I thought it was you who helped Tenchi."

          "I think it would be a good idea if you started thinking of yourself as me.  But yes, I was the one who healed him and sent him to Kagato's ship.  But I could not have done it without you, remember, I'm inside of you now and can't go anywhere without you."

          "But, aren't you also in your tree, on the ship?  And you said a part of you is in Tenchi as well."   She had a million other questions she wanted to ask Tsunami but the goddess raised her hand and shook her head.

          "You will understand everything in time, there are many things about myself that can't be explained with words.  When we are one you will know everything I do because you will, in essence, be me."

          Sasami nodded and looked at her lap.  Some of this she already knew, somehow.  But hearing it put to words by Tsunami made it all the more real.  Something she could no longer ignore.

          "I know you are worried about what will happen to you when we are fully merged; so before I go, I want you to know that you will still be yourself, but much more at the same time.  You will still have all your memories and you will feel the same.  It doesn't make much sense now, I know, but it will when the time comes.  I know you need some time to think about all this, but I want you to know that I am always here for you."

          Sasami looked up at the mirror and gave Tsunami a little smile.  "I know, thank you."

          Tsunami smiled back.  Her image faded and disappeared, leaving Sasami looking at an empty mirror for a second before her own reflection reappeared.  She sat staring at herself for a long time, not thinking about anything.  After a while some thoughts started to work their way into her head.  Tsunami had said that she was the real Sasami.  She still didn't know how she felt about that.  Of course she was relieved to know who she was, but after all those years of thinking she was someone else it would take some time to get used to.  Also, she didn't like the sounds of not having any control over the kind of powers that could make things disappear.  What if she accidentally made the house vanish, or worse, her sister or Tenchi or one of her friends?  Now she really needed to talk to someone.  

----------------------------------------------------------------

          "Here you go, Ryo-ohki," said Tenchi, handing her a dustpan.  "You can hold this while I sweep."  Ryo-ohki smiled and took the dustpan from him.  It was time for the afternoon chores and everyone was busy with their various tasks.  Mihoshi was washing the dishes from breakfast and lunch, Ayeka was cleaning the bathrooms and Ryoko was doing the laundry.  Tenchi and Ryo-ohki were cleaning the floors.  Ryo-ohki tried to help Tenchi in any way she could whenever he was home.  Sometimes she could, and other times her help caused more work than it saved.  But Tenchi didn't mind, for him it was like having a baby sister (even if she did look like a cat half the time).  Today he was going to show her how to scrub the floors.  Washu was scheduled to sweep outside,  but he had let her off to give her more time in the lab.  He was starting to get a little concerned about what was taking her so long.  Of course, he had no idea how long an investigation about water that vanished into the clear blue sky was supposed to take, but Washu had sounded confident that it would only take a few hours.  That was over six hours ago, and he had only seen her once since then when she came up for a bite to eat.  Even then she had only said a few words before disappearing back into her lab.  He shook his head, worrying about it wouldn't make her work any faster.

          "Come on," he said to Ryo-ohki.  "Let's get to work."

          He was helping her scrub the front hallway when he noticed Sasami watching them from the stairs.  Her hair was down and she looked a little tired, but she was smiling.  Ryo-ohki "Miya'd" and jumped up and ran to her.  With a "poof" of smoke she transformed into her cabit form and climbed up to her usual perch on Sasami's head.

          "Well hello, Sasami!" Tenchi said, getting up and smiling at her.   "How was your nap?"

          Sasami laughed and patted Ryo-ohki's head.  "It helped some, thank you," she told Tenchi.  "Have you seen Ayeka?  She wasn't upstairs."

          "She was cleaning the bathrooms, but I think she's done now so she's probably with Washu in her lab."

          "She's still in there?"

          "Yep," Tenchi said, scratching the back of his head and looking at the red door under the stairs that led to Washu's subspace lab.  "I guess it's giving her more trouble than she thought it would."

          Sasami picked Ryo-ohki up off her head.  "You stay here and help Tenchi finish cleaning the floor," she told the cabit.  "I'm going to go find Ayeka."  

          Ryo-ohki frowned, but did what Sasami said.  She hopped down the stairs and changed back to her child form.  Tenchi laughed and patted her on the head.

          "When we're done we can go get some carrots, how does that sound?" he asked her.  

         She "miya'd" happily and began scrubbing the floor again.  Sasami laughed and started down the stairs.  Before she reached the bottom step the lab door opened and Washu and Ayeka stepped through.

          "Oh, hello, Lord Tenchi,"  Ayeka said.  "Is Sasami awake yet?"

          Tenchi nodded at the base of the stairs to his right.

          "Ayeka, I was about to come looking for you,"  Sasami said.

          "Well!  I guess we saved you a trip then," said Washu, putting her hands behind her head.   "It took a lot of work, but I finally solved that little mystery we had this morning, if you all want to go into the living room I can tell you what I learned."

          "Okay, I wanted to talk to you about that anyway," she said.  "Come on, Ryo-Ohki, lets go."  

          She held out her hand to the cabit, and they entered the living room together.  Tenchi and the others followed.  Washu took her place in front of the couch while the rest took their seats.  They waited for Washu to start, but to Tenchi's suprise it was Sasami who spoke first.

          "I know it was me who did those things this morning.  I'm sorry you had to do so much work, Miss Washu."

          "Don't worry about it, it was very interesting.  So Tsunami told you, huh?"

          "Yes.  She said I'm getting some more of her powers."

          "More of her powers?" Tenchi asked.  "You mean you already had some?"

          She looked at Ayeka for a second before she answered, "Some small ones, but nothing I realy knew about."

          Before he could say anything else Ayeka spoke up, "So she told you how you did those things?"

          Sasami gave her sister a small smile.  "Sort of, she said that it had something to do with what I was thinking about at the time, like what time it was and how long I had been in the bath."

          "But she didn't tell you how you could control them?"

          Sasami shook her head.  "No, I was hoping one of you might have some ideas.  I don't want to make one of you guys disappear too."

          Tenchi knew how she felt.  He thought of his own power, the Wings of the Light Hawk, and the few times he had used them.  At the time, he had no idea how he had done it, and he had never been able to use them since.  Of course, he had not had any reason to.  Still, he would have felt a lot better if he knew how to call them up at will.

          "I'm sorry, Sasami.  But I can't even control my own Light Hawk Wings."  A thought struck him and he turned to Washu.  "Do you think Ryoko could help?"

          "I don't think Ryoko knows how she does anything, much less how to teach someone else."  Ayeka mumbled.

          Sasami looked at her and said, "Ayeka, that's not nice!"

          "No, I think she's right, at least to a certain extent," Washu said, still pacing.  "Ryoko uses her powers in much the same way you and I breath or move our bodies.  Do you know exactly how you breath, or move your fingers?  Could you teach someone else how to even if you did?  It's instinct, you're born with it."  She shook her head, "After you learn how to control these powers and know what you can do with them Ryoko might be able to help, but I don't think she could tell you how to use them."

          "What about you, Miss Washu?" Sasami asked.  "You made Ryoko, so you know how she does those things." 

          "Actually I don't, not exactly.  When I designed her, I encoded her powers into her DNA, so she was basically born knowing how to use them.  I never had to teach her how, call it a time saver of sorts."  She stopped her pacing and got a thoughtful look on her face.  

          "What is it, Little Washu?"  Tenchi asked.

          "I just had an idea.  We could send Sasami to school."

          "School?"  Sasami said.  "You mean like reading and writing?  But I learned all that on Jurai, how could it help me with this?"

          "Not elementary, my dear Sasami, but  specialized training from the best the Science Academy has to offer.  We aught to be able to find someone there who has some kind of knowledge about this sort of thing.   Well, not exactly this sort of thing, but close enough.  Besides, the experience would be good for you."

          Sasami thought about it for a moment.  "Well, you and Brother Yosho both went to the Academy, I guess I could too."

          "Wait a minute, doesn't the Academy have an age limit?" Ayeka said.  "Besides that, what would happen if it was found out that a Royal Princess was attending."

          "Don't worry," Washu said.  "Your brother did it, and you Royal types are hardly defenseless.  But right now we need to call your parents and let them know what is going on.  Besides, if they say 'no' I know of a place here on Earth that might be even better."

          That surprised Tenchi.  "Huh?  What are you talking about, Little Washu?"

          "Sorry, no more questions until we talk to Sasami's parents.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a long distance call to arrange."

          "Uhm, Miss Washu?" Sasami asked

          "Yes?"

          Sasami held her stomach and grimmaced a little, "Could I have some lunch first?  I'm starving."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

          Sasami was getting used to the nervous feeling it felt like she'd had in her stomach since early morning.  At least this time it looked like Washu would be doing most of the talking, since she wanted to discuss some of her ideas with her parents.  Once they were in Washu's lab, it had been a simple thing for her to set up a communications link with Jurai and it had only taken her a few minutes to contact Sasami and Ayeka's aunt, the Lady Funaho, who hardly seemed surprised to receive an unannounced call from Washu.  At the moment, they were waiting for her to return with their father, King Azusa, and mother, Lady Misaki.  Normally, if someone wanted to talk directly to a member of the Royal Family it required placing a call to the palace switchboard.  The caller would then be questioned about the purpose and legitimacy of the call and subjected to a security screening.  If it was determined the call was worth disturbing the King or one of the Queens over, it would be transferred and the caller would be placed on hold while he waited.   The whole process was very time consuming.  While it was certain that Ayeka or Sasami would be instantly transferred, Washu determined and they agreed that it would be best if as few people as possible knew that they were even calling.  Besides, Sasami had the feeling that Washu enjoyed finding ways around complex security systems such as the Palace had.

          Tenchi was not with them.  He had said that he wouldn't feel right being there while they discussed family business.  He had also seemed a bit nervous.  The last time Tenchi had met Sasami's parents, her father had tried to force him to fight with a nobleman he had chosen for Ayeka to marry.  Mihoshi had crashed her ship into the lake before the fight had even began and the nobleman, whose name was Seiryo, was washed off of the dock.  Her Father was not happy, but consented that Tenchi had won.  She couldn't blame Tenchi for not being too eager to talk to him again.  Instead, he decided to bring Ryoko and Mihoshi up to speed on what was happening while she, Ayeka and Washu spoke with her parents.

          Lady Funaho reappeared on the view screen.  She was tall and elegant, with her long black hair worn down in the traditional Juraian style, and a single, round, green mark in the center of her forehead.  With her were Sasami's mother and father.  Her mother, Misaki, was also tall, though not as tall as Funaho.  Her hair was the same blue color as Sasami's and she wore it tied back in a ponytail.  Her face looked much like Sasami's as well and always seemed to have a smile, she had two marks on her forehead.  Unlike Sasami's, the marks on her mother and aunt's foreheads were artificial, simply indicators of their royal status.

          Her father was a much more impressive figure than her mother and aunt were (which was saying something).  He was tall and broad shouldered.  His hair was dark purple, long, and worn in the same style as Funaho's, with his sideburns almost reaching the middle of his impressive biceps.  His face was hard and stern, with a full beard covering most of it.

          "Ayeka, Sasami," he said in his gruff voice.  "It is good to see you again."  His gaze fell on Washu and he gave her a little nod, "Washu."

          "Sasami!" Misaki said before anyone had the chance to reply.  She pushed her husband out of the way and looked straight at Washu.  She was so close to the screen that all Sasami could see was her face.  Her eyes filled with tears and she clasped her hands under her chin.  "Oh, my little Sasami!  You've gone and dyed your hair, it's so red, I just love it!"

          Washu stared at the screen for a moment, "Uh, Lady Misaki?  I'm Washu.  Sasami's behind me."

          Misaki blinked and looked from Washu to Sasami a few times.  Then her smile widened and she clasped her hands under her chin again.  "Sasami! You have changed your hair!  I think it looks wonderful!  It's so mature."

          "Hi, Mommy!  I miss you." Sasami said with a huge smile.  She loved the way her mother acted.  It was exactly the way you would not expect the head of the Royal Bodyguard to behave, especially since she was an expert martial artist.  But that was a large part of why she was loved so much by the Juraian people, she even had a large fan club (which Sasami's grandfather, Utsumi, was the head of).

          Misaki turned to Ayeka and glared at her.  She sighed, then clasped her hands under her chin and said, "My Mommy!" with huge, water filled eyes.

          Misaki smiled, "My little Ayeka!  Mommy misses you!"

          Ayeka moaned a little, "I miss you too, Mommy."

          From somewhere off screen Azusa cleared his throat.  Misaki blinked and regained her composure, she moved back a little so everyone could see the King and Funaho, who was quietly smiling.

          "Washu, I understand you have a matter of importance to discuss with us?" he said.  Then he added seriously, "One so important it could not be routed through the proper channels?"

          Washu nodded.  "Yes.  We chose not to use the proper channels because it is about Sasami that we need to speak to you and we figured the fewer people who know we called, the better."  Then she added, with a sly smile at Funaho, "I know how you Juraians love to gather information."

          She was right about that.  Sasami knew that the main reason her parents had visited Earth the last time was because Mihoshi's report on the incident with Kagato contained a lot of information about Ryoko and the gems that provided her with her powers.  Her Aunt Funaho was the Minister of Information and had wanted to speak with Washu about Ryoko and Ryo-ohki.  Sasami didn't know all the details, but she did know that she and Washu had come to some sort of an agreement.

          "What do you mean you need to talk to us about Sasami?" asked the King.  "Is she in trouble?  Sasami, what did you do?"

          "Well, she did do something, but it's not what you're thinking," Washu said with a smile.  Then she got serious and looked at the three Royals in turn.  "I know you remember Sasami telling you a while back about her experience with Tsunami and the resulting connection she has with her."

          Azusa and Funaho nodded.  Misaki brought a hand up to her face and looked like she was about to cry.

          Washu continued, "Well, It looks like she is beginning to manifest some of Tsunami's powers.  Unfortunately it also looks like she has no control over these powers.  Just this morning she made all the water in the floating onsen vanish into thin air.  She also made a clock appear on the wall."

          Misaki gasped.  Funaho stepped forward and asked, "You know for sure it was Sasami who did these things?"

          Washu nodded, "Yes, for two reasons.  One, I conducted a thorough investigation into the matter and could come to no other conclusion.  And two, Tsunami herself told Sasami."

          "So what does this mean?" asked Azusa.  "That my little girl is becoming a Goddess?"

          "Not yet," Washu said.  "When that happens Tsunami won't have to tell Sasami anything, because she will be Tsunami.  Kind of blows the mind, huh?"

          Azusa looked hard at Washu, "This is not a laughing matter, Washu.  I take it she is unable to control these powers?"

          "Not at the moment, it seems that it is all subconscious.  Fortunately that means the chance of her accidentally doing anything destructive is very small, since that is not in her nature.  But it also means that we never know when something will happen or what it will do.  Now as you know, many of us in this house have some experience dealing with special abilities, including Miss Ayeka here.  However, we do not have any experience in teaching others how to control these abilities, since we were born into them.  Miss Ayeka uses her key to access her powers and Sasami already knows how to do that.  I imagine you three do the same."

          "Yes," said Misaki.  "All Juraians with tree ships use their ship's powers that way.  They are trained to from the moment they are joined."

          "And it makes perfect sense to do so, unfortunately that won't help Sasami much.  Now my first thought is that we should be able to find someone at the Science Academy who would know something about this sort of thing.  But that would mean that he would need to be trusted to be discrete in who he talked to.  And even if he was, the chances of someone learning why she was there would still be awfully high.  Not to mention the age limit, she is still three years to young, and that's taking into account special exemptions like the one I got."

          "I don't like it," Azusa said.  "The risk to Sasami is too high, the only reason I let her stay on Earth is because it's a protected world and all of you are there."

          Ayeka spoke up, "We could bring him to us as a private tutor."

          "We could, assuming he exists.  But I have another plan, one that doesn't require Sasami to leave the planet and won't cause any awkward questions for your parents."

          "What are you talking about, Washu?" asked Azusa.

          "I'm talking about a little place called Hogwarts," she said with a smile.

          "Hogwarts?" he repeated.  "What kind of nonsense is this?"

          "It's a school, designed specifically to teach children Sasami's age how to use their special powers.  I only discovered it a few months ago. It seems they don't want people to know that they're there."

          "I didn't know Earthlings had any powers," Funaho said.

          "They call it magic, and most of them don't.  The ones who do try to keep it hidden.   It seems they had some rather nasty incidences a few hundred years ago that they don't want repeated.  They mostly keep to themselves and have developed a rather unique society.  They call themselves Witches and Wizards.  Sasami and Ayeka have probably heard those terms before, and I'm sure Lady Funaho remembers them as well."

          "I thought those were just stories." Sasami said, suddenly very interested.

          "They mostly are.  They deliberately let the stories grow as unbelievable as possible.  It makes it easier to keep themselves hidden."

          "What's this … Hogwarts place like?" Azusa asked.  He did not sound too happy with the idea.

          "That's one of the cool things about it.  It's actually a castle, a huge one in Scotland.  It's the best school they've got; very famous among their kind."

          Sasami liked the sound of going to school inside a castle.  Especially one in another country.  Since she had been on Earth all she had seen of other countries was on T.V.  It  sounded very romantic.

          "Where is Scotland?" Azusa asked.  He still didn't sound convinced.

          "On the other side of the planet, on an island about a third the size of Japan, pretty quaint actually," stated Washu.

          "I think it sounds like a wonderful place," said Misaki. 

          "And you think these people could help Sasami?" Funaho asked.

          "I'm not certain, but besides the Science Academy it's the best option I can think of."

          "What sort of people are they?  Will they care who Sasami is?" Azusa asked.

          "Well, they're people," Washu said with a shrug.  "Mostly good from what I could tell, but of course you've got a few bad eggs, just like anywhere else.  But like the rest of the Earthlings they are not aware of life on planets other than their own, so we would have to tell them she's an exchange student or something similar.  And their country's government is a sort of patriarchy so we would have to hide her royal status as well, but that wouldn't be difficult.  Unlike the Academy, no one there could recognize her."

          "So we would just continue like we are anyway, right?"  Sasami said.

          "Exactly."

          "I think they sound like lovely people, and I like the plan.  It would be good for Sasami to go to school with children her own age." Misaki said.

          "Yes, I agree," said Funaho.

          Azusa was very quiet for a few minutes, tapping his chin.  Sasami found herself hoping he would say yes.  Hogwarts sounded like a great place and it would be a wonderful adventure going to a school that taught people how to use magic.  The thought of meeting other people her age that could do the same sorts of things she could was even more exciting.  After a while, her father spoke up.

          "All right Washu, send me all the information you have on this 'school' and I'll think about it.  But I want you to keep looking for another solution, I still don't like the thought of entrusting my daughter to a bunch of strangers."

          "You got it," Washu said.  She tapped a few commands into her computer, "There's your info.  And I'll see what else I can find, but I still think this is the best prospect."

          "Just keep looking."  To Sasami and Ayeka he said, "It was good to see you, I'll talk to you again soon," and then he left.

          "Well, I think that went well, don't you Misaki?" Funaho said.

          "Oh yes, very well," Misaki replied.  "I think he likes your idea, Little Washu."  

          "Well, I'll keep looking for other options just to be safe," Washu replied.  "But thanks for the vote of confidence, Lady Misaki, you too Lady Funaho."

          "Well Sasami, what do you think?" Funaho asked her.

          "I like it," she said.  "It would be fun going to school with kids my age."

          "Well then, that's settled," Misaki said.  "I guess you can start making preperations, when the King says it's okay, we'll send you whatever permissions you need."

          "Uhm, okay," Washu said, she turned and shrugged at Sasami and Ayeka.  "I'll see who I need to talk to and let you know what we need then."

          "We should be going now," Funaho said.  "It truly was good to see you girls again."

          Misaki started to tear up.  "I'll talk to you again soon.  I love you Sasami, Ayeka," she said between sobs.

          "Goodby, Mommy," Sasami said with a wave and a smile.  "I love you too."

          "Goodby, Lady Funaho, it was good to see you as well.  Goodby Mother, I love you too" Ayeka said.  Misaki glared at her.  "I mean Mommy," she corrected instantly.

          Washu just grinned and waved.  After the screen had gone dark she turned and looked at Sasami.  "Well, I guess we need to teach you how to speak English now, don't we?"

**End of Chapter Two**


	3. At the Sign of the Leaky Cauldron

**Chapter Three**

At the Sign of the Leaky Cauldron

          "Why do we all have to go through this?" Ryoko complained as Washu stuck some little plastic discs to her head.

          "Because it will be easier for Sasami to learn English if we all speak it.  The best way to learn a language is to be completely immersed in it," she replied.

          "But if you're pumping it into our heads, what's left to learn?"

          "Lots of things.  All I'm giving you are the words and grammar, you will still need to get used to hearing and speaking it.  English isn't like Japanese you know, they say things quite a bit differently, and that will take some getting used to."

          "All right, let's do this then," Ryoko said, crossing her arms.

          They were all sitting around the living room while Washu hooked them up to her computer one by one and downloaded the language files into their heads.  Sasami had been first.  She had never felt anything quite like it, in one instant she knew an entire language, slang and all.  She also realized what Washu had meant about the language taking a while to get used to.  It was _very_ different from Japanese.  She knew a few of the words of course, it was impossible not to, but there were so many ways to use them that she hardly knew where to begin.  And the pronunciations!  She didn't know that her tongue could make some of those sounds. As Washu finished with the others, she could see that they were having the same troubles, and that made her feel a little better.  The exception was Mihoshi.  When her turn was over she started speaking it like she had been born knowing how.  Then Washu's computer broke down before Ryoko could take her turn and it took over an hour to fix.  By that time Sasami, Tenchi and Ayeka were becoming more comfortable with the words coming out of their mouths and they could even say a few sentences.

          Washu finished hooking Ryoko up and typed some commands into the computer.  It beeped and whizzed just like it had for Sasami and the others.  After a minute a cartoon crab popped up on the screen and a little word balloon appeared over its head saying "Finished".  Ryoko climbed out of her chair.

          "Okay Washu, now it's your turn," she said in perfect English.  "Wow, I guess it worked.  I don't know what you were talking about, it's not that hard a language."

          "Of course it works, I already tested it on myself just to be sure," Washu said in English, with a hint of indignation.  "Do you think I'd try something on you guys if I wasn't sure it would work?"

          "YES," they all said in English.

          She slumped her shoulders and sighed, "And I call you guys my friends, that's gratitude for ya'"

          "What about Ryo-ohki?" Sasami asked slowly, still struggling with the words.  "Doesn't she need to be hooked up too?"

          "Nope.  All she needs to do is link up with Ryoko, if she hasn't already."

          "Okay you," Ryoko said. She picked up Ryo-ohki and held her at face level, "Let's get you in on this little experiment, too."

          Ryo-ohki looked at her and meowed a question.

          "Well give me a minute and you will be able to understand me, now quit wiggling."  Ryoko stared at her for a moment then said, "There, now was that so bad?"

          Ryo-ohki meowed happily and wiggled out of her grasp.  She landed on the floor and hopped over to Sasami, who picked her up and put her on her head.  They both smiled.   Washu's computer began to beep.

          "Well, it's about time they called back.  I expected it a few days ago." she said, looking at a window in the corner of the screen.

          "Who is it, Little Washu?" Tenchi asked, reverting back to Japanese.

          She looked over at Sasami, "It's your parents.  I sent the consent forms to them a week ago.  I wonder what took so long."

          "It probably took Mother and Funaho that long to get Father to sign them," Ayeka said.  "I still don't think he likes the idea of Sasami going to a strange school."

          "It's not that strange," Washu said.  "There're some classes at the Science Academy that you wouldn't believe."

          "Like what, Miss Washu?" Mihoshi asked.

          "Well, the Galactic Theory studies are pretty wild," she said with a gleam in her eye.  "And the Philosophy department can be absolutely mind-blowing at times.  Do you know that they could even prove the existence of God if the Natural Science department would let them?  Actually I think they already have, but they never published it."  Then she added, "They could also just as easily disprove His existence, but that wouldn't be as much fun."

          "Wow," Mihoshi said.  "What were we talking about again?"

          Before Washu could strangle her, the computer beeped again and Sasami said, "Miss Washu, aren't you going to answer the phone?"

          "Yah, yah," Washu said with a wave of her hand.  "It took them this long to call back, they can wait a few minutes."  She typed a command into her computer and the screen changed to show King Azusa, who was looking quite impatient.  His mood did not improve any when he saw Tenchi.

          "Hello, Ayeka, Sasami," he said.

          "Hello, Father," Ayeka said.

          "Hello, Father!" Sasami said.  "Did you finally sign those papers?"

          He grimaced.  "Yes, Sasami, I signed them.  You can go to this 'school' if that's what you really want."

          "Thank you, Daddy."

          He looked at the others, "But I want all of you to keep an eye on her at all times."

          "Aw, Daddy," Sasami moaned.  She knew there would be a catch.

          "How are we supposed to do that?" asked Ryoko.  "I doubt that they'll let us hang around all year."

          "I already figured it out," Washu said.  "I knew you'd say that, and I wanted a way to check in on her as well.  Each student is allowed to take a pet along with them.  They usually restrict it to a cat, owl, or frog.  But Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster, is willing to make an exception in Sasami's case and will let her take Ryo-ohki.  That way Ryo-ohki can keep an eye on Sasami and Ryoko can check in with her whenever we need to.  Besides, I'm sure she'd want to go with Sasami anyway."

          Ryo-ohki meowed her agreement.

          "That's great Washu!" Sasami said, and she hugged Ryo-ohki.  She wasn't counting on taking Ryo-ohki with her.  She was her best friend, and it would be good to have her around.  She also knew that she wouldn't tell on her if anything happened.

          "Don't worry Your Majesty, I won't let anything happen to Sasami," Tenchi said.

          "Yes, I'm sure you won't," Azusa said in a tone Sasami couldn't quite place.  "I'm sure you will be needing some money as well?" he continued, looking at Ayeka.

          Ayeka brought her hand up to her mouth and blushed.  "Oh!  I'm sorry, Father.  I didn't think about that, but I guess we will need some for her supplies and tuition."

          He sighed and said, "They do still use gold on that planet?"

          "Yes, at least I think they do."

          "That would work, Your Majesty," Washu said.

          "Very well, if one of you can meet my currier at the border of the Solar System, I can get some to you in a few days.  I've already sent the papers to Washu's computer."

          "I'll go immediately, Your Majesty!" Mihoshi said with a salute.

          "What?" Azusa said.  "You don't have to leave yet!"  But Mihoshi wasn't listening.  She had already brought out her control cube and was twisting it this way and that.  Suddenly she was wearing her police uniform.

          "Don't worry, Your Majesty.  Detective Mihoshi is on the case!  That gold will reach Earth safe and sound!"  With one more twist of her cube and a flash of light she was gone.

          Azusa looked at Sasami, "Is she always like that?"

          Sasami sighed and said, "Yep."

          "But you really don't need to worry," Washu added.  "She may be an airhead, but she somehow always gets the job done.  Anyway, thanks for sending the paperwork, aside from that it's almost all set up.  I told Dumbledore that Sasami had to study abroad and we decided on Hogwarts because it's the best.  He bought that without question, but we may want to watch out around him.  I've got the feeling he knew I was leaving something out, but he never said anything."

          "You're certain your cover story was good?" Azusa asked.

          "Positive.  There's no school for wizards in Japan that I'm aware of, and Hogwarts is the best school they've got.  Besides that, they don't use computers so any records they need I could forge in a heartbeat.  But nothing is foolproof, so we need to be careful with what we say and who we say it to."

          "Well then, be careful.  Sasami, I expect you to do your best.  Even if they don't know it, you are a princess of Jurai and I expect you to act like it.  Ayeka, I leave you in charge of making sure she stays out of trouble, and I will be checking in on her."

          "I love you, Daddy!  I'll make you proud!"  Sasami said with a huge grin.  Things were going well.  Even though she knew she would be going from the moment her Mother had said it was all right, she was glad her Father agreed.  He was even paying for it!  And she got to take Ryo-ohki with her!  It was almost like she was getting her own private vacation.  Then she remembered why she had to go to school in the first place, but even that was not so bad anymore.  The whole thing was easier to take now that she knew she hadn't really died that day.  It also helped that there hadn't been anymore incidents.

          "Don't worry Father, Sasami will do fine," Ayeka said.

          "That's right, we're all here to help!" Washu said.

          "I'll call back later, after you've been there a few weeks." Azusa said.

          "Okay, bye Daddy!" Sasami said.  The screen went blank.

          "Well, I guess it's official," said Tenchi.

          "No, it was official last week when Mother said it was okay," Ayeka said.  "Now it just means Father's okay with it.  He must be taking this very seriously."

          "Well this is a serious matter," said Ryoko.  "Like Sasami said, she doesn't want one of us disappearing.  Of course _I_ wouldn't mind it if _you_ did."

          "_I_ wouldn't mind if she turned you into a frog," Ayeka replied.

          "Careful Princess," Ryoko said.  "She might miss and hit you."

          "Stop it you two," Tenchi said, much to Sasami's relief.  "That's not funny."  He turned and looked at Washu.  "Speaking of supplies, do we even know what Sasami is going to need yet?  And where are we going to get it?"

          Sasami hadn't thought of that yet.  She'd assumed that all she'd need was pens and paper and the like. But aside from the name of the school and what country it was in, she knew almost nothing about it.  She didn't even know if she needed a uniform or not.  She also realized she knew even less about the world she was about to enter.  Maybe they didn't use pens and paper.  The nervous feeling in her stomach was starting to come back.

          "Not yet," Washu answered.  "But don't worry.  School doesn't start for another two weeks, and they're supposed to send us a letter with all that information.  In fact, we should be getting it any day now."

          "So I guess now all we can do is wait," Ayeka said.

          "Nope," Washu said, putting on her professor's robes.  "Now we get back to our English lessons."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

          Mihoshi returned a few days later with a couple of bags of gold.  After they pulled her ship out of the lake the gold was placed in a safe in Sasami and Ayeka's room.  The letter arrived a week after that.  Tenchi was starting to worry that it would never show up.  When it finally did arrive, he understood what had taken so long.  He had gotten up that morning and was headed out for a bath when he found a very disheveled owl laying exhausted at the doorstep.  On its leg was a pouch containing an envelope and a map of London.  He took the poor bird inside and gave it some food and water.  He had to ask Washu if she knew what sort of food an owl might like.  After a while the bird had regained its strength and taken off.  By that time everyone else had gotten up and was waiting in the living room.

          "What a strange way to deliver the mail," Ayeka said.  "No wonder the letter was late, the poor thing."

          "At least it got here," Tenchi said.

          "What does the letter say?" asked Sasami.

          "It's addressed to you," he said, handing it to her.  "Why don't you read it to us?  It's in English so it'll be good practice."

          Sasami took it from him and broke the seal, there were two pieces of paper and what looked like a golden train ticket inside.  "Uhm, okay."  She began to slowly read the first page:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_WITCHCRAFT_and _WIZARDRY

~

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards_)

Dear Miss Masaki,

          We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

          Term begins on September 1.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

_Deputy Headmistress_

"Here's the list," she said, looking at the second page.  "Wow, there sure is a lot of stuff here."  After she looked it over she handed it to Tenchi, the others looked over his shoulder at it:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_WITCHCRAFT_and _WIZARDRY

~

UNIFORM

First year students will require:

     1.   Three sets of plain work robes (black)

     2.   One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

     3.   One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

          _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) b_y Miranda Goshawk__

          _A History of Magic _byBathilda Bagshot

          _Magical Theory_ by Aldalbert Waffling

          _A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch

          _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ by Phyllida Spore

          _Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger

_          Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them_ by Newt Scamander

          _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self- Protection_ by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

          1 wand

          1 cauldron (pewter, standard size two)

          1 set glass or crystal phials

          1 telescope

          1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

          PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

          "It's a good thing your Dad sent so much gold, huh?" said Ryoko.

          "Wow!" said Mihoshi.  "You get to have a magic wand?"

          "Where are we going to get all that stuff?" Ayeka asked.  "I don't think they have any magic wands or cauldrons in Tokyo"

          Tenchi looked at the map the owl had brought with it.  Above one section the words _Diagon Alley _were written in long, flowing letters.

          "I think we have to go to London," he said, and handed  her the map.

          "Is that near Tokyo?" asked Mihoshi.

          "No, you bubblehead," said Ryoko.  "It's in England."

          "Oh," she said, putting a finger up to her mouth.  "So it's not near Tokyo?"

          "It's on the other side of the world." Tenchi said taking the map from Ayeka and hading it to her.

          She looked at the map for a moment and then said, "Oh, Okay!  So I guess we'll need to use Ryo-ohki to get there, huh?"

          "Yeah, I guess you're right," said Tenchi.  "She could get us there in no time."

          "We could make a vacation of it," said Ayeka.  "We could stay there until Sasami has to leave for school.  None of us have ever been out of the country before.  It would be fun to see another part of the world."

          That sounded like a good idea to Tenchi.  He could see no reason why they shouldn't; at least a few of them needed to go to London, why not all of them?  Cheap travel was one of the advantages to having a spaceship for a pet.

          "Yah, that would be fun," he said.  "I would love to spend a few days in London, and it'll be a good opportunity to see what the wizard's world is like."

          "That would be great!  But where would we sleep?" Sasami asked, holding Ryo-ohki tight.  "We can't ask poor Ryo-ohki to stay a spaceship all night while we're asleep, it wouldn't be fair."

          "We can stay in the Leaky Cauldron," Mihoshi said.  It looks like they have good rates."

          "What are you talking about?" Ryoko asked.  "How do you know that?"

          "Well, I was just thinking about the same thing Sasami asked when the map told me."

          "The map told you?"

          "Uh-huh," Mihoshi nodded.

          "Let me see that," she snatched it out of Mihoshi's hands and stared at it.  "Hey!  She's right, look at this!"

          Everyone crowded around Ryoko and stared at the map.  Above the building at one end of Diagon Ally was written the words "The Leaky Cauldron, pub and inn," with a price list underneath.

          "Huh," said Tenchi.  "I don't remember seeing that."

          "I don't know how you could miss it, it's right there," Ryoko said pointing at the map.

          Ayeka looked from the map to Ryoko a few times.  "He's right, that wasn't there when I had it."

          "Let's see that," Washu said, holding out her hand.  Ryoko passed it to her.  She studied it for a minute, twisting and turning it this way and that.  "Ah ha!" she exclaimed.  "I thought so.  Take a look at this," she said, pointing to another building.  Above it were the words "Flourish and Blotts, bookstore".  "Now check this out," she said.  As they watched "Flourish and Blotts" disappeared and "Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, tailor and uniform shop" appeared above another building.  "All you gotta do is think about what you need and the map shows you where you need to go.  Now that's what I call user friendly."

          "Wow," Mihoshi said.  "Is that magic?"

          Tenchi was still staring at the map.  "Yes, Mihoshi.  I think that's magic."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

          Late the next morning they headed for London.  It had not taken Sasami long to pack, most of what she needed they would be getting in Diagon Alley.  What had taken a while was saying goodbye to her home.  It had been a lot harder than she thought it would be.  She knew that she would be back at the end of the term, if not during the holidays.  That didn't make it any easier, though.  Still, she was excited to finally be on her way to school.  It had been a long couple of weeks since Washu had first brought up the subject, weeks filled with daydreams and English lessons.  She still knew almost nothing about the world that she was entering, but that just added to her excitement.  She had heard all the stories about witches and wizards, and the thought that she was about to go to school and learn to be one was almost too much.  _Actually,_ she told herself, _you're going to school to learn to be a goddess._

          The flight to London took only a few minutes.  All Ryo-ohki (who was piloted by Ryoko) had to do was fly out of the atmosphere, make a short orbit and then head back down.  It was still very early in the morning when they reached London.  The sun wouldn't be coming up for another hour at least and a heavy fog hung in the air, so it was a simple thing to land unnoticed.  Even so, Washu had them choose a park a few miles from the Leaky Cauldron to further minimize their chances of being seen.  Washu placed their things in subspace and they teleported to the ground.  Ryo-ohki changed to her cabit form and firmly perched herself on Sasami's head.  Sasami shivered and put her jacket on, it was cold for the end of August.

          "So now what do we do?" Ryoko asked, apparently not bothered by the cool air.  "I think we showed up a little too early, none of the shops'll be open yet."

          "First we should find the Leaky Cauldron and get some rooms," said Tenchi as he put on his jacket.  "Who has the map?"

          "I have it right here," Ayeka said, pulling it out of her coat pocket.  She handed it to Tenchi.

          Sasami watched as he unrolled it and tried to find their location.  Everyone else gathered around.  To no ones surprise the park they were in highlighted itself.  What did surprise them were the little dots with each of their names above them that appeared in the middle of the park.

          "Well, that's new," Ryoko said.

          "This map just gets more and more useful, doesn't it?" Washu said.

          "Well at least no one can get lost now," said Tenchi.  "And we won't have any problem finding the inn"

          "So let's get going," said Ryoko.

          "Okay," said Tenchi as he studied the map.  He pointed at the street they could just see beyond the park's border, "All we have to do is follow that street for a while and we should come across the inn."

          "Hope you all brought your walking shoes," Washu said.  "I doubt the busses or cabs are running yet.  Oh, and Ryoko?"

          "Yeah?" she said, turning in midair to look at Washu.

          "No flying, this is a city, remember."

          "Right, right," she sighed and floated back down to the ground.

          "Let's go, then," said Tenchi as he rolled the map up and placed it in his pocket.

          Sasami was practically bouncing as they headed for the street.  She couldn't wait to get her first glimpse of her new world.  The street was nearly empty as they reached it, only a few cars filled with early morning commuters passed by.  As the morning wore on they only passed a few other pedestrians out for a morning stroll.  They were given a few odd glances, but no one said anything more than "Good Morning" to them.  As the sun started to rise the fog lifted a little and it started to warm up.  One by one they pulled their jackets off and Washu stuffed them into subspace along with the rest of their things.  As it got brighter Sasami was able to get her first good look at the city around her.  This was nothing like Okayama or even Tokyo.  The crowds of people she had come to associate with cities were nowhere to be seen, nor were the large, flashing advertisements and brightly colored store signs.  Most of the houses were painted one shade of brown or another and they all seemed to be connected to each other.  Most had only a small patch of grass in front of them.  It also sounded different.  At the crosswalks she was surprised to find that they didn't make any noise when it was time to cross.  Also absent was the noise from cell phones or electronic store-front advertising.  Instead they were replaced with a distant police siren or the muffled sound of a news program from a house they were passing.  Even the traffic sounded different.  Every once in a while they would see large, multi-storied red busses pass by.  Ayeka wanted to take one the rest of the way to the inn, but everyone else was enjoying the walk too much, so she was voted down.

          By the time they reached the Leaky Cauldron it was starting to feel more like the cities Sasami knew.  The inn was located farther into the city than the park they had started in, the buildings here were taller and the morning commute was starting to pick up.  They started passing more pedestrians and Sasami noticed that most of them were in business suits.  Many of them were giving Sasami curious glances and she realized that they were looking at Ryo-ohki.  She took her off of her head and carried her in her arms like a stuffed animal.

          The Leaky Cauldron was a small, grubby looking pub surrounded by a bookstore on one side and a music shop on the other.

          "We're going to stay here?" Ayeka asked, with obvious distaste.

          "Come on Princess, where's your sense of adventure?" Ryoko replied, coming up behind her and placing her hands on her shoulders.  "Besides, it doesn't look that bad to me."

          Ayeka pinched one of Ryoko's hands and said, "Yes, well, a dog house would look good to you if it served drinks, wouldn't it?"

          Ryoko pulled her hands back and glared at her.  People were starting to stare, no one else seemed to be able to see the pub and Sasami had the feeling they were wondering what this odd group of people were all looking at.  It made her very uncomfortable.

          "Come on you guys, let's see what it's like inside," she said, and headed for the door.

          Inside it was very dark and even shabbier than it was outside.  On one side was a bar tended by an old, bald and toothless man.  Tables were scattered around the room, which was quite full of people despite the early hour.  Sasami had never seen such an odd group of people before.  In one corner two little old ladies in capes and feather hats were reading a paper over their breakfast.  She wasn't sure, but she thought some of the pictures were moving.  At another table a man wearing green robes and a top hat was smoking a long pipe and talking to a short, wrinkled man with pointed ears.  There were all sorts; tall, short, fat, thin, old, young, and some who she couldn't even begin to guess at their age.  Almost all of them were wearing robes and many had tall, pointed hats as well.  Sasami suddenly felt very out of place.

          "What can I get for ya?" the barkeep asked them.  He had to yell to be heard over the noise of the crowd.

          Tenchi pushed his way over to the bar, Sasami followed close behind.  The others stayed behind, still taking in the sights.

          "New here, huh?" asked the barkeep with a nod at the others.  Ayeka looked like this was the last place in the world she wanted to be, Mihoshi was looking around her in awe, Ryoko was staring at the liquor cabinet and Washu had found a newspaper and buried her head in it.

          "That obvious, huh?" said Tenchi, scratching the back of his head.  "We need some rooms for a few days, if you have them."

          "How many you need?  We're pretty full up, what with school starting in a few days and all.  The name's Tom, by the way," he said, offering his hand.  

          Tenchi took it, "I'm Tenchi and this is Sasami.  There's six of us, so we'll probably need three."

          "Can't do three, but I can spare you guys two, if some o' ya don't mind a cot that is."

          "I guess we'll have to," Tenchi said.

          "All righ' then, follow me and I'll show 'em to ya.  They're at the end o' the hall, but they'll do ya fine, I think."

          Tenchi waved at the others and they all followed Tom up a surprisingly nice staircase and down a long hallway.  He stopped in front of two rooms near the end and unlocked the doors for them.

          "Well, here ya go, I'll bring the cots up later.  Let me know if ya need anything else."

          "Thanks," Tenchi said.

          Tom bowed and left.

          Sasami entered one of the rooms and looked around.  There wasn't much, but it was nice.  There were two beds, some oak furniture, a fireplace with a fire already lit and a wardrobe.  She hopped up on the bed closest to the fireplace.

          "This one's mine!" she said, then she had an idea.  She chuckled to herself and said, "Where are you sleeping, Tenchi?"

          He scratched the back of his head and looked around.  "Well, I figured I'd take one of the cots, but I hadn't really thought of which room I'd be in."

          Ryoko materialized behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest.  "You don't need to use one of those uncomfortable things, you can always sleep in my bed."

          "How dare you suggest such a filthy thing!  Especially with Sasami here!" Ayeka said.  She turned to Tenchi and said politely, "You can stay in here with Sasami and I if you want, Lord Tenchi."

          Ryoko glared at her.  "And once Sasami goes to sleep you can have your way with him right?  Just like in the shed?  I don't think so Princess."

          "If you think I'll just stand aside while you try to seduce Lord Tenchi you've got another thing coming!"

          "Like you're not trying the same thing, Miss Innocent?"  She clasped her hands under her chin and her eyes glazed over, "Oh, Lord Tenchi.  You can sleep in my room if you want."

          "At least I'm not trying to get him into bed, you hussy."

          "Oh," Mihoshi said, hopping up and down.  "Come on you two, let's not fight over this, at least not here."

          The both turned on her, "YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!"

          Tenchi groaned, still tightly wrapped in Ryoko's arms.

         As the two women continued to fight, Washu climbed onto the bed beside Sasami and said, "You know, you can be pretty devious sometimes, anyone ever tell you that?"

          Sasami laughed, and the two of them settled back to watch the show.

**End of Chapter Three**


	4. Wandering the Alley

**Chapter Four**

****

**Wandering the Alley******

            "The first thing we need to do is get this gold changed to the local currency," Ayeka said.  "It says we can do that at a place called Gringott's."

          They were getting ready to start shopping for Sasami's school supplies and Ayeka had taken charge.  She was looking at the map that had come with the letter stating Sasami's acceptance to Hogwarts.  A list of all the supplies she would need was also included, and that was what Sasami was looking at now.  Ryo-ohki was asleep on the bed.

          Sasami looked up from the list at her sister, "Don't we need to find the others first?"

          It had been several hours since they had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, and their group had spread out to explore the surprisingly large pub.  The fight over where Tenchi would sleep had finally been resolved after several guests complained about the noise.  Sasami, Tenchi and Washu were in one room, while Mihoshi, Ryoko and Ayeka were in the other.  Ryoko and Ayeka were not at all happy about that, but after Tom the innkeeper threatened to throw them out, they relented.  Ayeka was now throwing all her energy into Sasami's impending shopping spree.

          Ayeka stared at the map for a moment and then frowned.  "Figures," she snorted.

          "What is it, Ayeka?" Sasami asked.

          "It looks like Ryoko and Mihoshi are at the bar, getting drunk most likely.  It's not even lunchtime."

          "What about the others?"

          "Tenchi's next door," she paused and scanned the map for a moment.  "I can't see Washu anywhere.  I wonder where she is?"

          Sasami looked at the map for a moment and then asked, "When did the Leaky Cauldron get so big?"

          Ayeka blinked.  "I don't know, and now that you mention it the park we landed in isn't even on the map anymore."  She turned it over and looked at the back, it was blank.  "How odd."

          "I guess it's magic," Sasami said.

          Since they had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron Sasami had seen a few more examples of magic.  The most surprising one had been when the mirror in her room had complimented her on the color of her hair.  She was so shocked that all she could do was stammer a quiet "Thank you".  Later she was watching Tom work behind the bar when he had to go attend to some guests.  He took out a thin stick of wood that Sasami assumed was a magic wand and tapped the bottles.  To her amazement they started mixing and shaking and stirring by themselves.  Then there was the newspaper.  Washu had shown one to her after Ayeka and Ryoko's fight had been broken up.  It was called the Daily Prophet and was a sort of mix between reading the news and watching it on TV.  In every picture the subjects were moving around in a sort of endless cycle, it was very interesting.  The more Sasami saw of this fascinating new world, the more she liked it.  She couldn't wait to see what the shopping was like.  Ayeka was also obviously anxious to get started.

          "Alright," she said, standing up.  "I'll get the money and Lord Tenchi, you go get Ryoko and Mihoshi.  _If they're sober enough_," she added under her breath.  "Washu will just have to find us herself, I guess."

          She found Ryoko and Mihoshi at the bar, just like the map said.  Ryoko was drinking a brown liquid Sasami figured was whisky straight from the bottle and informing Tom of all the reasons why he really should carry sake.  Mihoshi was sipping at a glass of wine.

          "Hey, Sasami!" Ryoko said when she saw her.  "Have a drink, it's on me!"

          Sasami put up her hands, "Uh, Ryoko?  I'm way to young to drink, you know that.  Besides, it's time for us to go get my school supplies, do you want to come?"

          "Ooh, shopping!" Mihoshi said.  She jumped off of her stool, knocking her glass over and spilling it on the floor.  She picked the glass up and bumped her head on the underside of the bar on her way back up.  "Ouch," she said, rubbing her head and dropping the glass again in the process.  "Can I come?"

          Sasami picked up the glass while Ryoko pointed and laughed.  "Of course you can, Mihoshi.  Anyone who wants to can."

          "Yah, I'll go," Ryoko said when she had finally stopped laughing.  "It'll be fun."

          "Not 'til yeh pay ye'r tab, ye'r not," said Tom, holding out his hand.

          Ryoko blinked, "Oh... uh, charge it to our room all right?"

          Tom looked at her skeptically, but nodded.

          Ryoko bent down and whispered to Sasami, "Your dad is paying for this too, right?"

          "How much have you had, Ryoko?" Sasami asked.

          She stood up and laughed, waving her hands in front of her, "Not much, I swear.  I was just asking, that's all.  I think I'll go wash up before we leave."

          She laughed again and headed upstairs.  Sasami watched her leave and shook her head.  She turned and looked at Tom.

          "Excuse me sir, do you know how to get to Diagon Alley?" she asked.

          "O' course, little lady," he said and pointed to the back door.  "That there's the entrance, righ' outside that door."

          She gave him a little bow, "Thank you, sir.  Come on Mihoshi, let's see if the others are ready."

          They met Ayeka, Tenchi, Ryoko, Ryo-ohki and Washu on their way down the stairs.  Ryo-ohki meowed and hopped onto Sasami's head.

          "Washu! where were you?" Sasami asked, patting Ryo-ohki.

          "She was in her lab, she set up a subspace portal in our wardrobe," Tenchi said.

          Washu laughed, "Hey, just because I'm on vacation doesn't mean I can't work, you know."

          "So does anyone even know how to get to this place?" Ryoko asked.

          "We do!" Mihoshi said.  "Tom says it's out the back door."

          "Do we have everything we need?" asked Tenchi.

          "I think so," Ayeka replied.  "I have the money and the map and Sasami has her list, that's everything I think."

          "Come on, you guys!" Sasami said, pulling on Ayeka's arm.  "Let's go!"

          Ayeka let her pull her down the stairs, "All right, we're coming."

          Sasami led them across the floor and out the back door.  They found themselves in a small, walled in courtyard with nothing in it but a trash can.

          "Looks like a marketplace to me," Ryoko said, looking around at the small space.

          Ayeka turned to Mihoshi, "You're sure this is the where the innkeeper said to go?"

          Mihoshi was looking very confused so Sasami stepped up and said, "Yes, when I asked him how to get to Diagon Alley this is where he pointed."

          "Let me see the map," Tenchi said.  "Maybe it can tell us what to do."

          Ayeka pulled the map out of her pocket and handed it to him.  He unrolled it and studied it for a moment.

          "This could be a problem," he said.  "It says we need to tap the third brick from the left above the garbage can with a wand."

          "But we don't have a wand yet," Mihoshi said.  "That's why we need to get in there."

          "Don't worry," Washu said.  "All we need to do is go ask someone to do it for us.  I'll be right back."

          She turned and started to go back inside when the wall suddenly started to move.  Sasami watched in amazement as the third brick from the left above the garbage can started to wriggle, then roll back so a little hole was formed in the wall.  The rest of the bricks began to wriggle as well, and soon an entire section of the wall had rolled back, forming a large archway.

          Washu shrugged, "Or not."

          "Wow," said Mihoshi, "I thought we needed a wand."

          "That's what the map said," replied Tenchi, staring at the hole in the wall.

          Sasami wasn't looking at the archway, she was looking past it at the street beyond.  The street twisted and turned until it was out of sight.  On both sides shops protruded out at odd angles, some even stuck out over the street.  Cauldrons spilled onto the street from the nearest shop.

          "Wow," Mihoshi said again when she saw the street.

          "Well I'll be," said Ryoko, staring, "now that's a marketplace."

          They stepped through the wall and it instantly closed behind them so tightly Sasami couldn't tell there had ever been a hole.  After a moment of staring around, Tenchi pulled the map out again and studied it.

          "The first place we need to go is the bank," Ayeka told him.

          "Right," he said, "it looks like it's down the street a ways."

          They started down the street.  Sasami had to strain her neck in order to see everything: the people shopping, the items on display outside the various shops, even the shops themselves were interesting.  She saw one that looked like all it sold was broomsticks.  These were obviously not made for sweeping the floor, though, they were very smooth and streamlined and highly polished.  She stopped for a closer look and realized that they were made for flying.  Hanging on one of the walls she saw a picture of some people wearing brightly colored robes flying around and tossing a ball back and forth between them.  It looked like fun, until another ball came out of nowhere and knocked one of the players senseless.

          "How brutal," said Ayeka.

          "Looks like fun to me," said Ryoko.  "Of course those brooms would slow me down way to much."

          They continued down the street until they came to one building that towered over all the others.  It was a huge, twisted, pale white structure with polished bronze doors that were guarded by short, squat creatures that Sasami figured had to be goblins.

          Ayeka looked at the creatures with distaste, "This must be Gringott's."  She turned to Sasami and said, "Why don't you wait out here with the others, Washu and I can take care of this."

          That was fine with Sasami.  Even though the building looked impressive enough, and the goblins looked interesting, it was still just a bank.  Ayeka and Washu entered the bank, with Ayeka giving the goblins a wide berth.

          "So what do we do now?" asked Ryoko.  Tenchi shrugged.

          Mihoshi was looking down the street.  "Oh wow! Look at all those owls!"

          They looked to where she was pointing.  Eeylops Owl Emporium was overflowing with owls.  Mihoshi ran over to the shop and began enthusiastically looking into the windows.  Sasami and the others headed over at a slower pace.  Mihoshi started to enter the shop and was so engrossed with all the owls that she walked right into a couple who were on their way out.  Bags flew and they all went crashing to the ground.

          "Oh my gosh, Mihoshi!" Sasami said and she ran over to them.  Tenchi and Ryoko followed.

          "Oh my goodness, what happened?"  A girl about Sasami's age asked.  She was standing behind the couple and carrying a cage with a large owl in it.  She had dark brown, shoulder length hair and was wearing black robes.

          "I am so sorry," Mihoshi said, getting up and helping the two to their feet.

          "That's all right miss," said the man, as he helped his wife straighten up.  He was tall with neat, dark hair and glasses.  He was wearing a suit and tie.

          "Are you all right?" asked the girl.  "What happened?"

          "It's okay, Liana," said the woman.  She was wearing nice dark green robes and her brown, curly hair could be seen beneath a tall, pointed hat.  "We just bumped into each other, that's all."

          "It's my fault," said Mihoshi, "I'm always bumping into things."

          Sasami and Tenchi helped them pick up their things.  Tenchi handed them their bags and extended his hand.  The man shook it.

          "We really are sorry about this, my name's Tenchi.  You already met Mihoshi," Mihoshi waved sheepishly and apologized again.  "This is Sasami and she's Ryoko," he said, pointing to Ryoko, who was standing behind him.  She waved.

          "I'm Mark Collins, this is my wife, Cynthia, and this is our daughter Liana.  She's starting at Hogwarts this year," said the man.  "Are you starting this year too?" he asked Sasami.

          "Yep, we're getting my supplies today," said Sasami.  "My sister Ayeka is in Gringott's getting some money right now, she'd love to meet you."

          "Oh wow!" Mihoshi said, looking at the owl Liana was holding.  "Is this your owl?"

          "Yes, we just picked him up"

          Sasami bent down and looked at him.  He was large and brown, with black spots all over.

          "What's his name?" she asked.

          Liana thought for a moment and said, "I don't know.  I'm terrible at thinking up names so I haven't given him one yet."

          "Well, I think he's gorgeous, even if he doesn't have a name."

          "I'm taking him to Hogwarts with me.  Do you have an owl?"

          Sasami shook her head and pointed at Ryo-ohki, "Nope, I have Ryo-ohki.  She's my best friend."

          "Oh," Liana said, scratching Ryo-ohki's chin, "she's so cute!"  She looked up and said, "We're going to go to Ollivanders to get my wand next."

          "Ooh," Mihoshi said, "a magic wand shop.  I can't wait to see that!"

          Mrs. Collins looked at them and asked kindly, "This is your first time to Diagon Alley?"

          Tenchi laughed and scratched the back of his head.  "Actually this is our first time for all of this.  We didn't even know about any of this until about a month ago, and Sasami only got her letter yesterday."

          "Why did you get it so late?" Mr. Collins asked.  "Liana got hers weeks ago."

          "I'm not sure.  It probably took the owl a long time to get to our house, it was pretty tired when it arrived."

          "Where do you live?  If you don't mind my asking."

          "I don't mind.  We're from Japan."

          "Oh wow, I've been there once!" Liana said.  She gave them a little bow, "_Konnichiwa._"

          Tenchi laughed and bowed back, "_Konnichiwa._"

            "I took her there once on a business trip and she's been fascinated with it ever since," Mr. Collins said.  "Your English is excellent, by the way, I couldn't tell."

          "We had a good teacher," Sasami said.

          "I know, I know, I'm the best," Washu said, walking up behind them.  Ayeka was right behind her.

          "Washu, Ayeka," Tenchi said, "This is Mr. and Mrs. Collins and their daughter Liana."

          Washu shook their hands, "How do you do?  I'm Washu."

          Ayeka bowed and said, "I'm pleased to meet you.  I'm Sasami's sister, Ayeka."

          "Nice to meet you too," Mr. Collins said.  "Well, it looks like you're ready to start your shopping, and I'm getting hungry, so I guess we'd better get going."

          "Can they come with us?" Liana asked.  "They're new here and we could show them around."

          "That's okay," Tenchi said.  "We have a map and we don't want to intrude any more than we already have."

          "Oh, that's all right," Mrs. Collins said.  "If you haven't already eaten we'd love to have you for lunch."

          "Thank you very much," Ayeka said.  "But we already ate at the Leaky Cauldron, and we really do need to get Sasami's supplies now."

          "We could meet them after lunch," Liana said eagerly.

          "Yah," Sasami said.  "We could get our wands together.  She said that was where they were going next, and I can't wait to get mine!"  She already liked Liana and wanted to get to know her better.  Besides, she had about a million questions about the wizarding world she wanted to ask her.

          "I guess we could get Sasami's robes while you eat, and then meet later," Ayeka said.

          They agreed to meet at Ollivanders in an hour and then parted company.  Tenchi led them down the street to Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions.  Madam Malkin was a short, round lady dressed in mauve robes.

          "Hogwarts dear?" she asked Sasami when they walked in.

          "Yep," she said.

          "All right then," she said, "follow me."  She led Sasami to the back of the shop and had her stand on a short stool.  She slipped a large robe over her head and began pinning it up.

          After her robes were properly fitted they picked out her hat and winter cloak.  Sasami was amazed at how many choices there were for black hats.  They finally came across one that looked right on her, although she still thought it looked weird.  She was glad that she was still wearing her hair down, or it would have been flattened by trying all those hats on.  It was easier to choose her winter cloak.  Ayeka went straight for the fanciest one, and since Madam Malkin said it was approved for Hogwarts use, they got it.  Sasami liked it, she was not adverse to fancy clothes, owning many elaborate outfits herself.  It was made of thick wool, with large, intricately etched silver fasteners, and when she tried it on she found it heavy, but not so heavy that it was a burden.  It would definitely keep her warm come winter.  They had no choice, however, when it came to her uniform.  All students had to wear the same thing, white shirts and ties with gray slacks for boys or skirts and knee socks for girls.

          By the time they were finished in the uniform shop an hour had passed so they headed for Ollivanders.  They found the Collins waiting outside the narrow, shabby shop.  The sign above the door read Ollivanders: makers of fine wands since 382 BC in peeling gold letters.  They all entered the shop together.  A small bell tinkled in the distance as the nine of them piled into the tiny shop.  Washu was forced to stand on the only chair in the room and Tenchi and Ryoko finally decided to wait outside with the bags and the owl, they left the door open so they could still hear what was going on.

          The shop was filled with shelves that stretched from floor to ceiling and were crammed with thin little boxes.  It was very dusty and felt like an old library.

          "Goodness, what a crowd," said an old man as he appeared from the back of the shop.

          "Good afternoon, Mr. Ollivander," said Mrs. Collins.

          "Cynthia, Cynthia Hersey.  How's your wand doing?  Willow, right?  Eleven inches, with a dragon heartstring?"

          "That's right, sir.  It still works perfectly, thank you.  And it's Collins now," she said, nodding at Mr. Collins.  "My daughter needs a wand, she's starting at Hogwarts this year.  Her friend needs one as well."

          Mr. Ollivander peered over the counter at Sasami and Liana.  "Well, let's see what we can do about that, why don't we."

          Sasami handed Ryo-ohki to Washu, and Mr. Ollivander led the two girls behind the counter where he produced a tape measure.  He looked at Liana and asked her, "Which is your wand hand?"  She held up her right hand and he measured her from shoulder to fingertip, elbow to wrist, knee to armpit and around her head.  He went through the same motions with Sasami.

          "Let's start with you, miss Collins," said the old man.    He walked over to one of the shelves and pulled a box down.  He removed a wand from it and handed it to her.  "Try this one," he said.  "Birch, eight inches, with a phoenix feather.  Go ahead, give it a wave."

          Liana looked at Sasami and gave her a little smile.  Sasami wasn't sure what she was supposed to expect, but she still felt a bit exited for Liana as she watched her wave the wand a few times.  Mr. Collins immediately took the wand from her and handed her another one.

          "Try this, Beachwood and dragon heartstring, ten and a half inches."  She had hardly moved her arm when he snatched the wand from her and gave her another one.

          "Ebony and unicorn hair, nine inches.  Try it."

          She tried, but it to was snatched and replaced with yet another.  And another.  And another.  Sasami was beginning to wonder if he would ever find what he was looking for, but Mr. Ollivander seemed to be getting more and more optimistic.

          Finally one of the wands reacted.  Sasami had been looking idly around the shop and getting quite bored when a sudden shower of sparks erupted from beside her.  She squealed and jumped.  Liana must have been surprised as well because she had dropped the wand, but Mr. Ollivander and her mother both shouted out and clapped.

          "Very good… Yes, very good," Mr. Ollivander said.  "Yew, with a unicorn hair.  Ten inches.  Very nice wand, good for charms."

          Liana picked her wand up and examined it.  She waved it a few more times but nothing happened this time.  She handed it back to Mr. Ollivander.  He took it over to the counter and wrapped it in brown paper.  Mrs. Collins paid him for it and placed it in her handbag.  Mr. Ollivander turned to Sasami.

          "Now for you, young lady.  What's you name?  I don't recognize your family."

          "I'm Sasami.  Sasami Masaki," she said with a small bow.  "I'm the first one in my family to go to Hogwarts," she explained.

          "Ah," said the old man, "a challenge then."  He brought out his measure again.  He held it up to her and then turned to his shelves.  Sasami watched as he climbed a ladder and started searching through the boxes on an upper shelf.  She was surprised to find that the measure was busy measuring her by itself.

          "We'll start with these ones, then," Mr. Ollivander said after a minute.  The measure had moved to Sasami's nostrils.

          "That's all I need, thank you," he said as he climbed off the ladder.  He waved his hand and the measure fell to the floor in a heap.

          "Try this one.  Mahogany with a phoenix feather.  Ten inches."  He handed her the wand and she gave it a tentative wave.  He immediately took it from her and handed her another one.

          "Cherry and unicorn hair.  Seven and a half inches."

          The process started all over again, with Sasami waving the wands and Mr. Ollivander handing her new ones.  She quickly lost count of how many she had waved.  After a long while the pile of discarded wands was starting to grow quite large.  During one of his trips up the ladder, as Sasami massaged her arm, she could hear him muttering softly to himself.  She had noticed that the enthusiasm he had displayed earlier as Liana tried her wands had faded.  He seemed to be getting discouraged.  She looked over at the others; Ayeka, Mr. Collins and Liana looked bored, Mihoshi was leaning over the counter, asleep, Washu was busy typing away on her computer and Tenchi and Ryoko were talking outside.  Mrs. Collins was looking a little worried as she watched Mr. Ollivander climb down his ladder.  Sasami was beginning to wonder if she was going to get a wand.

          "You are a tricky customer, eh?" he said, as he returned with another armful of wands.  "We'll find one for you, though.  I've never come across someone yet I didn't have a wand for."

          Sasami moaned inwardly as she started waving wands again.  She had long since stopped expecting sparks to come shooting out of one of them at any moment, and her arm was growing numb.  They were nearing the end of the batch when one of the wands Mr. Ollivander was trying to grab from her slipped and fell to the floor.  Sasami bent over to pick it up and her key fell out from the inside of her shirt.  It landed on the floor with a thump.  Ayeka perked up and Mr. Ollivander looked at it curiously.  It was small and shaped to fit in her fist, with a band of purple sticking out on top.  It had been formed from the sap of her tree, _Tsunami_, shortly after they had been bonded and she always carried it with her.  Sasami picked both it and the wand up and handed the wand over to Mr. Ollivander.

          She was about to put her key back inside her shirt when he asked her, "Would you mind if I took a look at that?"

          She stopped and looked at him.  "No, I don't mind," she said carefully.

          She held it out to him and he took it.  He examined the key closely, turning it around in his hands.

          "Exquisite work.  I've never seen anything like it before, what kind of wood is this from?"

          Sasami looked over at Ayeka.  She shook her head slightly and looked worried.

          "I'm not sure," she lied.  "It's a family heirloom."

          "Hmm... interesting... how fascinating.  Yes, why not?  It's worth a try." he mumbled.  He turned it over a few more times and handed it back to her.  "Can you wave that for me, please?"

          Sasami looked at him, confused.  She slowly waved it in front of her.  Red and green sparks immediately shot out from the top.  She jumped, shocked.  That had never happened before.  Ayeka jumped as well, Mihoshi woke up with a start, and everyone else turned to watch.  Washu put away her computer and leaned forward enthusiastically.

          "Now, this is truly amazing.  I've never seen anything like this before, not like this."

          Sasami was confused.  "What do you mean?" she asked.

          "Every wand we make has a core of a powerful magical substance.  We use unicorn hairs, phoenix feathers and dragon heartstrings.  Just like no two unicorns, phoenixes or dragons are the same, neither are two wands the same.  The reason I have you try so many different wands is because the wand chooses the witch or wizard who will use it.  It appears that the reason no wand would choose you, Miss Masaki, is that you have already been chosen... by this," he said, pointing at her key.

          Sasami was beginning to understand what was happening.  She glanced over at Ayeka, and she also caught Washu's eye, they both looked intensely interested.  Mrs. Collins looked confused.

          "But, how?" she asked, turning back to the old man.  "You said that magic wands have magical cores, this is just a piece of sap."  She knew that wasn't true, but she didn't want Mr. Ollivander to know that.

          He shook his head, "No, it's more than that, I think.  There's magic in it, or I don't know a magic wand from a toothpick."  He leaned close to her and fixed her with his misty eyes, they seemed to see straight through her.  "You keep a hold on that.  If they give you a time about you using it, tell them I said it's fit for magic and that it's chosen you."

          Sasami nodded silently, avoiding his eyes.  She thanked him with a bow and they all filed out of the shop.

          Liana ran up to her once they were outside the little shop.

          "Wow!  So you had a wand all the time and never even knew it?"

          Sasami held up her key and looked at it again.  It shined bright white in the sunlight.

          "I guess so," she said.

          "Wow, that is so beautiful.  What is it?"

          "I thought it was just an ornament," she said, continuing her story.  "It's made from sap."

          "Is that what they make wands from in Japan?"

          "I don't know.  I don't know anything about the wizard's world."

          "That's right!  I forgot.  So you really don't know anything?"

          Sasami shook her head, "Nothing.  How long have you known that you were a witch?"

          "Oh, I've always known.  My mum's a witch, so it was almost guaranteed that I would be one too."

          "What about your dad?"

          Liana giggled, "Dad?  He's a muggle.  Mum and I love to tease him about it."

          Sasami wasn't sure she heard right, "Muggle?"

          "Sorry, it means non-magical folk.  Some people don't like the word, but nothing's meant by it."

          "When did he learn about your mom?"

          "I don't know, but it was before I was born.  I think he's still getting used to it though.  Today's his first time coming here too, but he's heard all about it."

          Sasami thought he had seemed a little out of place, just like her own family.  Now she knew why.  Mrs. Collins called to Liana and she excused herself.  Washu came up and walked beside Sasami.

          "So he liked your key, huh?"

          "Yes, he said it was magical," Sasami replied, remembering Mr. Ollivander's penetrating eyes.

          "Well, in a way I guess he's right.  Especially since yours came from Tsunami."

          "I know, but it's never done anything on its own before.  Not like that.  It acted just like Liana's wand did when it chose her."

          "Yes, that was interesting.  I got a ton of information today.  It'll take me a while to wade through it all.  I'm planning on comparing the information I got from her wand with your key's.  I'll let you know what I find out, okay?"

          Sasami nodded.

          Liana came hopping back up to them.  "We're going to go get my books next, do you want to come?"

          A bookstore didn't sound very interesting, and her mind was still on her key.  But she did need to get her schoolbooks, however, so they headed over to Flourish and Blotts.  The moment they walked through the doors she was glad she came.  They were the only customers.  It was the largest store Sasami had been in yet today and was unlike any bookstore she had ever seen.  It was two stories of almost nothing but books.  The shelves were stacked from floor to ceiling, and books were crammed into every possible corner, they were even stacked on the floor, leaning and twisting at impossible angles.  The center of attention, however, was the iron cage on display behind the large front window.  Inside were about fifty books, all fighting with each other.  The books had handsome green covers and _The Monster Book of Monsters_ was written in gold letters on their fronts.  Pages flew everywhere as the books hopped around on their sides and tore at each other.

          Mihoshi was amazed, "Wow!  Look at those books!  How do they do that?"

          Ryoko peered at the cage and laughed, then she looked at Ayeka.  "This book's not on Sasami's list is it?"

          Sasami exchanged glances with Liana.  She hoped not, she had no desire to be attacked by a book.  She handed Ayeka the list.

          "What's it called again?" she asked.

          Washu looked into the cage, "_The Monster Book of Monsters_, that's an understatement."

          "Oh, good." Ayeka said, relieved.  "It's not on here."

          Mrs. Collins looked at her own list, "That sounds like it's a book for the Care of Magical Creatures.  If I remember right, that class doesn't start until the third year."

          Liana leaned over to Sasami and whispered, "They're going to have a hard time reading that one.  Half the pages'll be gone by the time they can get it open."

          Sasami giggled and replied, "If they don't loose a finger first.''

          Just then the manager came walking up.  He was carrying a chewed up walking stick and a pair of heavy gloves, he looked very tired and anxious.

          "Hogwarts?" he asked quickly, pointing at Sasami and Liana.  "Come for your new books, right?"

          "Yes sir," said Ayeka.  "We need..."

          "Yes,yes,yes," he said impatiently as he pulled on his gloves and moved towards the cage.  He looked at the girls again and said, "I suppose you'll be needing two of them, right?"

          Before Sasami could say anything Tenchi spoke up.

          "Wait a minute, sir.  We don't need that one."

          Washu looked disappointed.  The manager sighed and pulled off his gloves.  "Never stocking those ruddy things again, if they use it next year they can bloody well get it somewhere else."  He banged the side of the cage with his stick, hard, then looked up at them and smiled.  "So!  What can I get for you fine people today?"

          Mrs. Collins handed him her list and pointed out the books.  "We'll need two copies of each, please."

          He looked it over and said, "Ah!  First years I see.  Well, if you'll follow me we'll get you taken care of."

          He led them to the back of the store and showed them where the books for first years were kept.  Ayeka and Mrs. Collins spent the next several minutes with Sasami and Liana going through the books making sure they had everything they needed.  While they were looking through the schoolbooks, the others wandered the store.  Tenchi and Mr. Collins wandered the isles and talked, while Washu eagerly explored the store's selection.  Mihoshi and Ryoko quickly got bored and drifted back to the caged books.

          After they had selected their schoolbooks Liana led Sasami to another section of the store.  She pulled a book off of the shelf and handed it to her.

          "If you want to learn more about the wizarding world you need to get this book, it's great."

          Sasami read the cover.  It was large and bound in green leather.  On the front, in fancy gold letters (which seemed to be the preferred color for titles) were the words _Quidditch Through the Ages, by Kennilworthy Whisp_.

          "What's quidditch?" she asked, rereading the title.

          Liana's eyes brightened, "It's the best sport in the world.  The players fly around on their brooms and try to put a ball through one of three hoops."

          Sasami remembered the poster she saw in the broom shop and mentioned it to her.

          "That's it, doesn't it look great?"

          "It looks dangerous," she said, "a ball knocked one of them off his broom."

          "Oh, that?" Liana said.  "That's the bludger, that's what it does.  The beater should have stopped it."

          Sasami was about to ask what a beater was when a loud crash came from the front of the store.  They ran to where the sound came from.  Liana shouted in surprise as they came around the shelves and saw what had happened.  The large iron cage that housed _The Monster Book of Monsters_ was laying open on the floor.  Mihoshi was up on the shelf where the cage used to be and about twenty books were at the base of it, hoping around and growling at her.  The rest were trying to get at Ryoko, who was floating in the air, just out of their reach.

          "Ryoko!" Sasami shouted.  "What are you doing?"

          Ryoko looked up.  She stared at them for a moment, then gasped in recognition when she realized Liana was staring.  She quickly landed on the floor and hopped onto the shelf next to Mihoshi.  Liana was about to say something but was interrupted when the monster books turned their attention on her and Sasami.  Sasami tossed the book she was still holding at the nearest attacking book (which caught it in midair and proceeded to tear it to pieces) and the two of them hopped onto a nearby reading bench.

          "What is going on here?" shouted the manager as he came running up to them.  All the others were right behind him.

          "Whoa!" Tenchi yelped, skidding to a stop.

          Ayeka screeched and jumped onto the bench next to Sasami and Liana.  "How did this happen?" she asked Mihoshi and Ryoko.

          "I don't know!" Mihoshi said desperately.  "They all jumped against the side at the same time and it just tipped over."

          Mr. Collins stepped on one, trapping its covers shut.  "Were you teasing them?" he asked.

          Ryoko looked at the ceiling and scratched the back of her head.  "Of course not," she said nervously, "why would you say something like that?"

          The manager was in a panic.  "They're tearing up my store!  We have to stop them!"

          And indeed they were.  Many of the books had given up on reaching Mihoshi and Ryoko and had turned their attention to the easier to reach books on the lower shelves.  Pages were flying all over the store and the monster books were starting to spread out.  Mr. Collins removed his belt and picked up the book he had trapped.  He wrapped the belt around the struggling book and fastened it tight. Tenchi, who already had two under his feet, also pulled off his belt and wrapped them up, cover to cover.  He looked around.

          "I don't think we have enough belts," he said.

          "We have some wrapping string in the back," said the manager.  He ran off to the store-room.

          Mrs. Collins brought out her wand and pointed it at the group of books at the base of the bench Sasami, Liana and Ayeka were standing on.

          "_Immobulus_!" she said loudly.  There was a flash of light and the books instantly froze in their spots, even the ones in midair.

          They climbed down off the bench.  Washu had clamped one book shut between her hands and was studying it closely with a look of pure joy on her face.  She looked up.

          "Hey!  That's a neat trick!"

          Mrs. Collins nodded at her, "Thank you," she said with a satisfied smile.

          "Hey!" Ryoko cried.  "What about us?"

          Mrs. Collins looked at her and Mihoshi for a moment.  "I think you can wait until the manager gets back with the string.  You're not in any danger, I think."

          Washu cackled, "I believe you're right, Mrs. Collins.  Maybe it'll teach them a lesson."

          Ryoko made a gesture at Washu that caused Sasami to cry "Ryoko!"

          Half an hour later the last book had been rounded up and placed back in its cage.  Tenchi and Mr. Collins helped the manager put the cage back in the window and they left the store with Sasami's books and many apologies (not to mention considerably lighter pockets).

          After they picked up the rest of their supplies (crystal phials, some brass scales, a telescope, and a cauldron) they headed over to the apothecary.  Mrs. Collins wanted to stock up on her potions ingredients.  Sasami wanted to see what the potions shop was like, so Tenchi, Mihoshi, Ryoko and Ayeka (who would not let Ryoko go anywhere with Tenchi alone) took her and Liana's supplies back to the Leaky Cauldron while she and Washu went with the Collins'.  The Apothecary was a large, dusty shop stacked to the ceiling with all sorts of strange potions and ingredients.  Liana's mother had taught her a lot about potion making, and she was more than happy to share her knowledge with Sasami.

          "This is wolfsbane," she said pointing at one jar.  "And this is vervain, it's used in love potions," she said with an important nod.

          "What's this?" Sasami asked, pointing at a jar full of a muddy brown substance.

          "Oh, you don't want to touch that," Liana said with disgust, "it's bat's blood."

          Sasami stepped quickly back.  "That's horrible.  Who'd want a jar full of that?"

          "It comes in handy in all sorts of potions," Liana replied.  "It's supposed to help you see in the dark."

          "It's still disgusting."

          They spent the next several minutes wandering the shop while Liana pointed out several interesting herbs, animal parts and instruments.  They bumped into Washu near the back of the store.  She was closely studying a book and mumbling quietly to herself.

          "To think, I'd been doing it wrong all these years."

          "Hi Washu, what are you reading?" said Sasami

          Washu looked up, surprised.  "Oh!  Hi Sasami.  I was just looking through this book of potion recipes.  It's really something."

          "What do you mean you've been doing it wrong, Miss Washu?" Liana asked.

          "Huh?  Did I say that out loud?  Well… I'm something of a scientist, and I just found a formula I've been working on for years in here, that's all."

          Liana studied her for a minute then said, "Oh, alright."

          They started to leave when Washu called out, "Oh, and Liana?"

          They turned.  "Yes, Miss Washu?"

          "Call me 'Little Washu' won't you please?"

          She stared for a moment, confused.  "Okay, Little Washu," she said slowly.

          Washu smiled and buried herself in the book again.

          "What was that about?" Liana asked as they continued down the isle.

          "That's what she likes to be called," Sasami explained.

          "Why?"

          Sasami thought for a moment.  "It's a nickname, we call her that because she looks so young.  In Japanese what we say is _Washu-Chan_, it's what we call little children."

          "Oh.  How old is she?"

          "Twenty …" Sasami clamped her mouth shut.  She had been about to say "Twenty thousand."

          "About twenty," she said quickly.

          "Wow," Liana said.  "I hope I look that good when I'm that old."

          Sasami nodded her agreement.  She _really_ hoped she looked that good when she was as old as Washu.

          They found Mr. and Mrs. Collins at the front counter.  Mrs. Collins was paying for a rather large bag of supplies.  Mr. Collins was shaking his head and looking in his wallet.  He was mumbling something that sounded like, "never heard of Visa?"  Mrs. Collins turned and looked at them.

          "Hello girls.  Find anything interesting?" 

          Sasami nodded.  Liana shrugged.  Mrs. Collins put her change away and handed the bag of potions to her husband.

          "Well, that's all I need right now.  We should head back to the Leaky Cauldron, it'll be dinner time soon and we need to clean up after chasing down those dreadful books.  Honestly, what kind of teachers do they have there now, if they're using textbooks like that?"

          By the time they made it back to the Leaky Cauldron Ayeka had already packed Sasami's things away.  She met them in the bar and invited the Collins to eat dinner with them.  "Our treat, of course, to thank you for showing us around this afternoon," she said, acting every bit the Princess.

          Tom the innkeeper had to push three tables together to accommodate the large crowd.  Sasami felt rather strange sitting in the large wooden chairs.  She had eaten while sitting in a chair plenty of times before, of course, but those had usually been formal dinners at the palace or in a fancy restaurant.  At the dinner parties on Jurai everything had been quiet and sophisticated, with everyone dressed up in their fanciest clothing.  Here it felt like a regular family meal at Tenchi's house, with everyone talking and joking as they ate.  It took her a little bit to get used to the silverware as well, since Tom couldn't find any chopsticks for them.  Liana kept laughing as she watched Sasami fumble with the fork.  All throughout dinner, she was asking Sasami questions about life in Japan.  Sasami didn't mind answering her questions, but it didn't give her much of a chance to ask about the wizarding world.

          During a brief pause in the conversation, while Liana's mouth was full of meat pie she was able to ask her about Hogwarts.

          "Mum's told me all about it," she said between bites.  "She went there when she was a kid, of course.  It's great, they have ghosts and a giant squid in the lake and everything."

          "Ghosts?" Sasami asked in awe.

          Liana gave a big nod and swallowed.  "Yep, there's a bunch of 'em."

          Ayeka perked up when she heard this.  "You never said anything about the school being haunted," she said to Washu.

          Washu laughed and scratched the back of her head.  "Didn't I?  It must have slipped my mind."

          "Don't worry," Mrs. Collins said, "they're harmless, Dumbledore wouldn't let them stay if they weren't."

          "What kind of man is Dumbledore anyway?" Ayeka asked Mrs. Collins.

          Mrs. Collins laughed.  "That's a hard one to answer.  He loves children to start with.  He's been at Hogwarts for as long as I can remember, though he was a professor when I went to school.  He likes to have fun, and can be eccentric at times.  He's also probably the greatest wizard alive.  When You-Know-Who rose up, Dumbledore was the only person he was scared of."

          Tenchi looked confused.  "You-Know-Who?"

          Liana was shocked.  "You don't know who You-Know-Who is?"

          Tenchi shook his head apologetically and set down his fork, "Sorry."

          "I'm sorry," Mrs. Collins said.  "It's easy to forget that not everybody knows about that."

          "What are you talking about?" Ryoko asked.

          She took a long drink before she answered.  "About twenty years ago there was a wizard who tried to take over.  He gathered up a bunch of followers, who called themselves Death Eaters, and went on a rampage, killing anyone who didn't agree with his ideology.  Dumbledore organized a resistance, but they were outnumbered and ill-prepared.  Hogwarts was the only place that was safe from him and his Death Eaters.  You-Know-Who didn't dare attack it while Dumbledore was there.  Just when things were looking hopeless something happened that ended the whole thing in a single night.  Ever since then, we don't speak his name out loud.  The memories are still to strong."

          "That's horrible!" Ayeka said, covering her mouth.  "What happened to... uh... to You-Know-Who?"

           "Nobody knows for sure.  About thirteen years ago he attacked one family, the Potters, at home.  He managed to kill the mother and father, but when he got to their baby boy, Harry, the curse backfired.  The house was destroyed and most people think he was killed, but not everyone believes that.  Whatever happened, one thing is sure, no one ever survived after You-Know-Who decided to kill them, but Harry Potter did."

          "He tried to kill a little baby?" Sasami asked, horrified.

          "I'm afraid so," Mrs. Collins said.  "Unfortunately, young Harry was not the only baby he tried to kill, but he was the only one to survive."

          "Harry'll be there at school!" Liana said excitedly.

          "He started a few years ago," Mrs. Collins said.  "He's already making quite a name for himself.  They say he even saved the school last year.  Something about a monster and an old artifact."

          "Yah!" Liana added.  "And the year before that he stopped You-Know-Who from stealing a stone that would help him get his powers back."

          "Wow," Mihoshi said.  "So he's like a hero, huh?"

          "Well he's certainly famous," Mr. Collins said.  "Even I've heard of him."

          Ayeka turned to Washu and asked, "Did you know about any of this?"

          "I had heard of this guy," she replied, "his name was Voldemort.  But I was never able to get the full story."  All three Collins cringed at the mention of his name.

          "It's not something we usually talk about," Mrs. Collins said.  "Most of the adults were around when it happened, and the children grow up hearing about it.  And it's not a good idea to go around saying his name like that.  Most people aren't accustomed to hearing it."

          The rest of the evening was spent discussing the next few days.  The start of the term was only two days away now, and they needed a way to get to the train station.  The car Mr. Collins had rented was barely large enough to hold all of Liana's supplies, so they decided that he and Tenchi would go out the next day and rent a van large enough to hold nine people and two large trunks.  Mrs. Collins promised to show Ayeka and Mihoshi a few of the nicer clothing stores in Diagon Alley and Sasami wanted to see more of the shop she had seen the flying brooms in (which Liana told her was called Quality Qudditch Supplies).  Liana  also promised to show her "the best candy store in London."  All Ryoko wanted to see more of was the bar's selection, since they didn't have any "proper" baths.

          After dinner they all trooped upstairs to their separate rooms.  The Collins had a room near the front of the hallway.  Ryoko made one more attempt to get Tenchi to sleep in her room, but it didn't go very far after she remembered that Ayeka and Mihoshi would be sleeping in the same room.  As soon as Sasami, Tenchi and Washu entered their room Washu strode straight over to the wardrobe and entered her lab.  Sasami opened the trunk at the foot of her bed and went through all the things they had bought that day.  After she had refolded and put away the last of her robes she crawled into bed with Ryo-ohki and said goodnight to Tenchi.  She fell asleep that night feeling happier than she had in months.

**End of Chapter Four**


	5. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**Chapter Five**

****

Something Wicked This Way Comes

          Sasami and Tenchi both woke up early the next morning and headed downstairs for breakfast.  Soon after, Liana came bouncing down the stairs with Mr. Collins close behind.

          "Guess who we just saw?" she said, sitting down next to Sasami.  "Harry Potter!" she said before Sasami could even open her mouth.  "He's staying just two rooms away from us!"

          Sasami found it hard to share in Liana's excitement.  "Well it makes sense that he'd stay here, doesn't it?  He has to take the train to school tomorrow just like the rest of us."

          "That's right!" Liana gasped, practically bouncing out of her seat.  "He'll be on the train with us too!"

          "Don't you go bugging him," said Mr. Collins as he buttered his toast.  "I'm sure he has enough to worry about without a couple of first years harassing him."

          Liana stuck her tongue out at her father, then her eyes grew wide and she pointed at the staircase.  "Here he comes!"

          Sasami looked up and saw a boy a few years older than her coming down the stairs.  She had heard all about him last night, but he looked nothing at all like she had expected him to.  He was skinny and his clothes looked like they were several sizes too large, his hair looked like he never bothered to brush it, and he wore glasses.  There was no doubt that he was the famous Harry Potter though, because as soon as he stepped off the last stair half the witches and wizards in the bar ran up to him and offered to shake his hand.  Liana wanted to join in the fray, but when she tried to get up Mr. Collins reached out and pulled her back into her seat.  After Harry had finished shaking hands with everyone he ordered his breakfast from Tom and sat down alone to eat.

          "Isn't he here with anyone?" Tenchi asked.

          "I don't know," Liana said, still staring at him.  "I didn't see anyone else upstairs."

          "Hey, kiddo!" Mr. Collins said, snapping his fingers in front of her face.  "Eat your breakfast."

          Liana grabbed a couple waffles and started eating, but kept glancing occasionally in Harry's direction.  Mrs. Collins and the others came downstairs a little while later (except for Washu, who was still in her lab).  Soon after that Harry got up from his table and left for Diagon Alley.  Liana tried to follow him, but Mr. Collins made her finish her breakfast first.  When they had finished eating Mr. Collins and Tenchi left to go pick up their rental van for the trip to King's Cross station the next morning.  Sasami and Liana were anxious to go exploring Diagon alley, so Mrs. Collins and Ayeka gave them some money.  Mrs. Collins warned them to stay on the main street and to be back before lunch and Ayeka told Sasami not to buy anything dangerous.  From what Sasami had seen yesterday, she figured her sister would consider anything she bought to be dangerous.  Ryo-ohki climbed onto Sasami's head and they left out the back door.  Liana took out her wand and tapped the third brick from the left, the wall rolled back and they entered Diagon alley.

          They spent the morning exploring all the various stores and grabbing little snacks at the cafes.  Everywhere they went Liana kept an eye out for Harry Potter, but they never saw him.  When they visited Quality Quiddich supplies they had to push their way through a huge crowd that had gathered.  When they finally reached the front of the crowd  they saw a slick, highly polished broom set up on a podium.  Liana's eyes grew as large as saucers.

          "Oh my gosh!" she yelled.  "This is the Firebolt!  They're finally out!"

          "It sure is pretty," Sasami said.

          Liana looked at her like she had just murdered someone.  "Pretty?  This is the fastest, best handling broom ever made!"

          "Oh," Sasami said looking at the broom again.  It definitely looked like it was made to go fast.  The handle was very smooth and straight and it was polished to a high gloss.  The twigs in the back were molded and formed together like a teardrop, meeting in a sharp point at the end.

          Sasami had an idea.  "Why don't we each buy one?  You could teach me how to ride it.  It'll be fun,"

          Liana coughed and looked at her like she was crazy.  "You really _don't_ know anything, do you?"

          "What did I say?"

          "This is the broom professional Quidditch players dream about using.  Even if we could get our parents to pay for one, there's no way either one of us could handle it.  I can barely use my Nimbus 1000."

          "Oh," said Sasami, feeling stupid.

          "Hey!  Let's go get that book I showed you yesterday, then you'll know all about brooms and Quidditch!"

          Sasami still wasn't sure if she even liked Quidditch, but she did want to learn more about the wizarding world so she agreed.  The manager at Flourish and Blotts wasn't too happy to see them.  But he soon cheered up when he realized Ryoko and Mihoshi weren't with them.  After they picked up _Quidditch Through the Ages_ they went to an ice cream shop and read it together over very large chocolate sundaes.

          A few hours later they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch (they never did make it to the candy shop Liana promised to show Sasami). Tenchi and Mr. Collins had returned with the van a few hours earlier and had been sitting in a corner talking ever since.  Sasami was glad that they seemed to be getting along so well.  Ryoko was still at the bar and fast becoming one of Tom's favorite customers.  There was still no sign of Washu.  Mrs. Collins, Ayeka and Mihoshi showed up loaded down with boxes of new clothes from Gladrags Wizardwear (London).  After they put their boxes away in their rooms they all sat down for lunch.  Sasami and Liana didn't eat anything because they were still full of ice cream, which got them in trouble with Mrs. Collins and Ayeka.  Sasami was starting to feel pretty tired after the long day they had yesterday and all the ice cream she had just eaten so after lunch she went upstairs for a nap.  When she got to her room she placed her new book inside her trunk and climbed onto her bed.  She fell asleep thinking of brooms and magic wands and trains.

~~~

          That night another large party had taken over the Leaky Cauldron so the Collins treated them to dinner in Diagon Alley.  Liana swore she saw Harry Potter with the group but Mr. Collins told her it was just wishful thinking.  Talk that night revolved around preparations for the next morning.  The train was set to leave King's Cross station from platform Nine and Three-quarters at exactly 11:00 so they needed to get up early in order to be sure and make it on time.  Ayeka kept asking Sasami if she had packed everything, and Sasami kept telling her yes.

          They finished dinner and headed back to the Leaky Cauldron.  When they got to their room Tenchi went to the bathroom for his evening bath.  Ryo-ohki hopped onto Sasami's bed and curled up on the pillow.  Sasami had some questions she wanted to ask Washu, so she headed over to the wardrobe and poked her head through the door.

          "Miss Washu!" she called out.  "Are you in here?"

          "You don't need to shout," Washu said, stepping out from behind some of Tenchi's clothes.  "I'm right here."

          "Washu, have you been in there all day?"

          "Wow, has it been that long?" Washu asked, looking at the clock.

          "How is everyone going to get home tomorrow?" Sasami asked as Washu shut the wardrobe doors.  "Ryo-ohki's going with me."

          "Oh, don't worry about that," Washu said.  "All they have to do is enter my lab through here and then they can use the other door that leads to the house.  Oh, by the way, I finished going over the data I collected on your key if you want to hear about it."

          That was the other thing she had wanted to ask Washu about.  "What did you find out?"

          "Nothing conclusive, I'm afraid.  But the energy your key produced was almost exactly the same as that of the wand Liana was using.  I wish I had some data from your key other than what I got the other day, because I checked out the data from Ayeka's key and it's totally different.  The Master Key's is a bit closer to yours, but that's to be expected, considering where your key came from."

          "So what are you saying?"

          "Well, it looks like your key has more energy than others, but it is in essence a magic wand."

          "How is that possible?" Sasami asked.

          "It makes sense if you think about it," Washu replied.  "Witches and wizards use their wands to access and direct their own natural powers.  You use your key to access Tsunami's power.  Since you're becoming Tsunami, you're basically using it to access your own powers."

          "But it never acted the way it did yesterday when I would use it before."

          "When _was _the last time you used it?"

          Sasami had to think about that one.  "I think it was the day I met Tenchi and Ryoko.  I used it to open the cell Ayeka had put Tenchi in."

          "So its been almost three years.  Long before any of this started to happen."

          "So has it always been like this?"

          "It's possible.  Or it could be that you or Tsunami changed it and made it like this, I don't know.  But I do know that not even the Master Key could do what yours can."

          A horrible thought occurred to Sasami.  "If I can use my key to help control my powers does this mean I don't need to go to Hogwarts?"

          "No, I think this means that Hogwarts is definitely the place you want to be.  They specialize in teaching you how to direct and control your powers.  It doesn't matter where that power comes from."

          Sasami sat down on her bed, relieved.  The more she learned about Hogwarts, the more she wanted to go there.  They said goodnight and Washu returned to her lab.  Sasami put on her nightgown and climbed into bed.  A few minutes later Tenchi came out of the bathroom and she told him what Washu had said.  He looked a little disappointed when she told him that the Master Key couldn't do the same thing.  When she was done he turned out the lights and climbed into bed.  She could hardly sleep that night, she was so excited.

~~

          Sasami woke up the next morning to the sound of someone knocking on her door.  She moaned and looked over at the clock.  It read six AM.  She climbed out of bed, trying not to disturb Ryo-ohki, and walked across the room to answer the door.  Liana was standing on the other side looking miserable.

          "Why are you up so early?" Sasami asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

          "I couldn't sleep," she said, entering the room.  "Those boys next door were arguing all night long, and they're at it again this morning."

          "Oh, good morning, Liana," Tenchi said as he sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes.

          "Oh, I'm sorry," she said.  "I didn't mean to wake you."

          "That's okay," he said.  "I usually get up earlier than this anyway.  I'll just go brush my teeth."  He got out of bed and went into the bathroom.  Soon the sound of running water could be heard through the closed door.  

          "So, are you ready to go?" Liana asked as she hopped up on Sasami's bed.

          Sasami sat down next to her.  Ryo-ohki meowed and looked sleepily up at them.  Sasami picked her up and started petting her.  "I guess so.  But I'm really nervous."

          "So am I.  But that's what's so fun, it's like an adventure or something."

          Sasami remembered her last adventure, the incident with Kagato, it wasn't fun.  But this was completely different, she told herself.  She was only going to school, she was going to learn magic, and she had already made one friend.  She was still nervous, but it was a good, excited nervous.  "Yah," she said with a smile.  "It will be fun."

          After Tenchi was finished in the bathroom Sasami went in and took a bath.  Afterward she got dressed in her usual bright green and pink clothes, she and Liana would change into their robes later on the train.  A few hours later, after breakfast, Tenchi and Mr. Collins helped them drag their trunks downstairs and loaded them into the van.  Everyone piled into the van and soon they were weaving their way through the streets of London on their way to King's Cross station.

          They arrived with half an hour to spare and it was a good thing they did.  The station was crowded with people.  Mr. Collins and Tenchi found them some carts and they loaded their trunks onto them.  Liana placed her owl on top of her trunk and Ryo-ohki rode in the basket of Sasami's cart.  It took them over fifteen minutes to fight their way through the crowds to the wall that separated platforms nine and ten.  Earlier that morning Mrs. Collins had told them that in order to get to platform Nine and Three-Quarters all they had to do was walk straight through the wall.

          Ryoko looked at the wall skeptically.  "You're sure about this?" she asked Mrs. Collins.

          "Absolutely, I've done it myself many times." she said with a smile.

          Ryoko walked around to the other side then poked her head around the corner.  "Alright then, you go first."

          She shook her head.  "Sorry, I can't.  Since I'm the only one who's done this before I have to go last, to make sure everyone makes it through."  She turned to everyone else and said brightly,  "So, who will it be?"

          Tenchi, Ayeka, and Mihoshi all looked at each other nervously.  Mr. Collins was looking from the wall to his wife like she had lost her mind, apparently she had never told him about this part.  She seemed to be enjoying herself.  Sasami looked at the wall, still not quite convinced.

          "I'll go first," she said, before she could change her mind.  Mrs. Collins came up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

          "Okay.  Remember, all you have to do is walk straight at the wall," she said, pointing at it.  "You can run if your nervous."

          Sasami nodded, she _was _nervous.  She looked around to make sure no one from the crowd was watching.  Then she took a deep breath, gripped her cart tight and started running towards the wall.  Before long the momentum from the cart made it impossible for her to stop without running into the wall.  The very solid looking brick wall was coming closer and closer.  Ryo-ohki meowed in alarm and closed her eyes.

          Just when it looked like she was going to crash into the wall it suddenly vanished before her eyes.  Sasami skidded to a halt and looked around in amazement.  A sign on the wall behind her read _Platform 9 3/4_ in gold letters on a scarlet background.  A large, scarlet steam engine was waiting at the platform and had the words "Hogwarts Express" painted on its front with the Hogwarts crest as a figurehead.  Steam was blowing everywhere.  A large group of people had already arrived and were busy loading their things onto the train.  Liana came through the wall behind her and almost ran into her.

          "You'd better move," she said.  "Dad's coming next."

          They moved away from the wall and Liana looked around.  "Wow.  Isn't this great?"  She asked.

          Sasami looked around again.  "It's wonderful," she said.

          One by one the others came through the wall.  They had to catch Mihoshi, who had her eyes closed and almost ran right off the platform.  Ayeka came last, with Mrs. Collins leading her through.

          They started down the length of the train, looking into the cars for some empty seats as they went.  Sasami was amazed at how much room each of the cars had.  The only trains she had ever been on were in Japan, and those were always so crowded with people that it was almost impossible to find an empty seat.  The seats in this train were all in their own compartments and had plenty of room for everyone to sit.  They found and empty compartment in the next to last car.  Tenchi and Mr. Collins helped Sasami and Liana place their trunks into the luggage racks.  There was also a spot for Liana's owl's cage.  After their luggage was secure Tenchi checked his watch.

          "Well, the train's about to leave, so I guess it's time to say goodbye."

          Sasami's stomach churned.  This was the part she had been dreading.  Tears formed in her eyes and she jumped into Tenchi's arms.  He hugged her back.

          "I'll miss you," she cried.

          Tenchi patted her on the back.  "I'll miss you too, but we'll see you again at Christmas."

          Sasami sniffed and looked at him.  "I know, but that's so far away."

          Washu knelt down beside them and hugged her.  "Hey, when you come back you can show us some cool new tricks, alright?"

          Sasami nodded.

          Ryoko patted her on the head.  "Hey kiddo.  Try not to blow anyone up, okay?" she said with a crooked smile.

          Sasami laughed and hugged her.  "I'll try.  I'll miss you, Ryoko."

          "I'll miss you too, kid."

          Mihoshi broke into tears and wailed loudly.  Sasami hugged her.  "It's okay, Mihoshi.  I'll be back to visit in a few months."

          "I know," Mihoshi sobbed.  "But it's just so sad!"  She started to cry louder and hugged Sasami so hard that she could barely breath.  Tenchi had to pull Mihoshi away before she crushed her.

          Ayeka knelt down beside Sasami as she was gasping for breath.  The tears came back and she hugged her sister.  The warning whistle blew.

          Ayeka hugged her back and they stayed like that for a minute, neither saying anything.  Then Ayeka stood up and kissed her on the top of her head.

          "If you ever need me, let Ryo-ohki know and I'll come as soon as I can."

          Sasami nodded.  "I love you, Ayeka.  I'll miss you."

          "I love you too."

          The whistle blew again.

          "We'd better go," Washu said.  "Bye, Sasami."  She waved and turned to leave the train.  Ryoko, Mihoshi and Tenchi all said goodbye again and followed her.  Sasami hugged Mr. and Mrs. Collins.

          "I'll miss you too," she said.

          They hugged her back, then hugged Liana goodbye and left the train as well.  Ayeka hugged Sasami one more time, then stepped off the train just as it started to move.  The doors closed and Sasami opened the window and she and Liana leaned out so they could see everyone.

          "Goodbye everyone!" Liana said, waving.

          They all waved back as the train started pulling out of the station.  As the train moved away they got smaller and smaller.  Soon all Sasami could see were the streets and buildings of London as they made their way through the city.  She closed the window and they went to their compartment and closed the door.  Sasami sat down on one of the benches and Liana took the seat opposite her.  They silently watched the buildings fly past the window as the train picked up speed.  Ryo-ohki fell asleep on the seat next to Sasami.  Soon they left the urban sprawl of London and were moving through wide, green fields and pastures.  It was beautiful, the last time Sasami had seen such wide open spaces was from her bedroom window on Jurai, high up in the giant tree that served as the Royal Palace.  Except there were more hills here, and they didn't have cows on Jurai.  It could have been an even nicer view, but the slowly gathering clouds were starting to hide the sun and turned everything to a dull gray.

          "What's with that mark on your forehead?"

          Sasami turned from the window, surprised at the sudden question.  "Huh?"

          "That mark on your forehead," Liana said, pointing at the green triangles on Sasami's forehead.  "I've been meaning to ask you why you wear that."

          "I've had it for as long as I can remember," she said.  "It's like a birthmark, I can't take it off."

          Liana leaned forward and studied it for a moment.  "I've never seen a green birthmark before."

          Sasami reached up and rubbed her forehead.  She couldn't feel the marks, but she knew they were there.

          They spent the rest of the morning discussing their families.  Liana, as it turned out, was not from England either; though her mother was.  Her father was an American businessman and had met Liana's mother on one of his business trips to London.  After they got married Mrs. Collins had moved with him to New York, where he had an apartment, but she frequently returned to London to visit her family.  When it was time for Liana to start wizards school, her mother had insisted she attend Hogwarts, claiming that the Americans couldn't even play Quidditch right (Mrs. Collins loved the game as much as Liana did), so how could they be expected to teach Liana how to be a proper witch?

          Sasami told Liana as much as she could about life with Tenchi and the others.  It was becoming easier for her to leave out the bits about other planets and Light Hawk Wings and Goddesses.  Life at Tenchi's house was, for the most part, just like any other large family's; busy.  She told Liana about Tenchi's carrot fields, the lake the house was built on and the Masaki shrine (although she left out the fact that the old priest was her half-brother Yosho.  It would be difficult to explain the age difference if Liana were ever to meet him).  Liana was fascinated, especially since she had lived in a high-rise apartment all her life.

          As the morning wore on the clouds grew darker.  Shortly after one o'clock a little, round witch with a lunch cart arrived outside their door.  Sasami had seen some of the items on the cart in Diagon Alley, but many of them she had not.  There were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron cakes, and many others she couldn't even begin to guess at.  It all looked so good that Sasami decided to get a little bit of everything.  She was still new to wizards money, so Liana had to help her figure out the right amount.  Liana got a few Cauldron cakes, Every Flavor Beans and some Chocolate Frogs.

          After the witch had left they sat down to eat.  Sasami started with the cauldron cakes, since they were the biggest.  They were good, but nothing special.  When she was done she reached for a box of Every Flavor Beans.

          "You want to be careful with those," Liana said through a mouth full of cake.

          Sasami looked up at her.  "Why?"

          She swallowed and said, "When they say 'every flavor' they mean every flavor.  You have just as good a chance of finding sawdust or vinegar as you do licorice or apple.  I got one that tasted like mildew once, I've never eaten them since."

          Sasami looked down at the box of jelly beans she was holding.  She considered leaving them, but her curiosity got the better of her.  How could she not try them?  It was like putting a "Do Not Push" sign over a big, red button.  She opened the box, popped the first one into her mouth without even looking at it, and bit down.  Her nose and mouth screamed in protest as her eyes filled with tears.  She spit the bean out and grabbed a nearby bottle of pumpkin juice.  She drink half the bottle between fits of coughing.  Ryo-ohki woke up and meowed worriedly.

          "What flavor was that?" Liana asked, laughing.  Sasami coughed a few more times.

          "I don't know," she replied.  "It tasted like a dirty sock."  She put the beans aside and picked up a Chocolate Frog.

          "Ooh, you'll like those," Liana said.  "But watch out, they can get away from you if you're not careful."

          "They're not real frogs, are they?" Sasami asked, afraid of the answer.

          "Of course not, but they can still jump," she said, as if it were a perfectly natural thing for chocolate to do.  "If you want, you can collect the cards, too."

          Sasami opened the box, barely catching the frog as it jumped out, and pulled a card out.  On it was a beautiful witch with long, curly hair and a tight, thin smile.  She seemed to be looking straight at Sasami, she stared back at the witch.  After a moment the witched laughed and walked out of the picture.  Sasami blinked.

          "Hey, She left!"

          "Who was it?"

          Sasami looked at the bottom of the card.  "Uhm, Morgana Le Fey."

          "Oh, she never stays long.  Don't worry about it, she can be pretty rude sometimes."

          After they finished eating Sasami got out her copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_ and they looked through it together.  Sasami still didn't know if she liked the game, but it gave her a little better understanding of how the wizarding community worked.  She was especially interested to learn that there was even a Japanese team.  Ryo-ohki chased one of the Chocolate Frogs around the floor for a while, but when the magic wore off and it stopped moving she climbed up onto Sasami's lap and fell asleep again.  Students had begun moving up and down the train, and they could hear the sounds of people talking and laughing outside their compartment.  Most of them were already in their robes, and Liana suggested they put theirs on too.  It was the first time Sasami had worn hers since they were fitted, and now that everyone else around her was wearing the same thing she didn't feel quite as silly.  Liana took her wand out of her trunk and tucked it into her robe.  Sasami took her key, which she had had in her shirt pocket out of habit, and tucked it into her robe as well.  Liana was still fascinated with it.  Around mid-afternoon the clouds finally let loose the rain they had been threatening all day and turned the world outside even darker then it had been.  It made Sasami glad she was warm and comfortable inside the train.  The lanterns in the corridors and above the luggage racks flickered on.

          "I wonder how much longer it will be until we reach Hogwarts," Sasami said as she looked out the window at the ever darkening sky.

          "It shouldn't be too much longer," Liana said.  "We still have to be sorted and eat dinner."

          "Sorted?"

          "Into our house, there's four at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.  Mum told me the first thing they do is divide us up into one of them; she was in Ravenclaw.  We stay in the same house the whole time we're there, it's kind of like our family."

          "How do they sort us?"

          "I don't know, Mum wouldn't tell me.  She said it was sort of a secret, but I think it's a kind of test or something."

          "I hope it's not a magic test," Sasami said, "I don't know any yet."

          "I only know a couple spells," Liana said, "and they don't work right."

          Sasami was about to ask what kind of spells they were when she noticed that something felt different.  Liana must have noticed it too, because she suddenly got a curious look on her face.

          "What's wrong with the train?" Liana asked.

          "I don't know," Sasami said, "I think we're slowing down."

          "Are we there?"

          Sasami went to the window and rubbed the fog off of it with her hand.  "I can't see anything out there."  She slid the window down and poked her head out into the rain.  She looked up and down the length of the train.  It was definitely slowing down, but all she could see were trees; there was no sign of a station.  She brought her head back inside and shook the water off.  "There's nothing but trees out there."

          "So why are we stopping?"

          "Maybe there's something on the tracks?"

          The train came to a stop with a jolt.  Out in the corridor some luggage fell to the floor with heavy thumps.  The lights went out and plunged them into darkness.

          "Hey!" Liana said.

          Sasami felt her way back to her seat and cautiously sat down.  "We'd better sit down," she said.  "I think the train broke down."

          "I think you're right," Liana said.  Sasami heard her fumbling around for her seat.  Suddenly Ryo-ohki meowed painfully and Liana yelped.

          "Sorry Ryo-ohki."

          They heard one of the doors outside open and the sound of someone stepping onto the train.  Ryo-ohki hissed and jumped onto Sasami's lap.  As the heavy footsteps moved slowly down the corridor they could hear each of the compartment doors sliding open and the footsteps would pause for a moment before moving on.  As they grew nearer Ryo-ohki grew more and more agitated.  Sasami tried to calm her, but it was hard when she felt just as nervous.  Why was she so scared?  She could hear Liana breathing nervously across from her.  She wished she could see.  A small shiver ran up her back and the compartment began to glow a soft green.  Liana gasped.

          "Sasami…."

          Sasami looked around to see where the light was coming from.  Wherever she looked the light seemed to follow.  She looked back at Liana, she had one hand over her mouth and the other was pointing at Sasami's forehead.  Ryo-ohki arched her back and hissed loudly.  The compartment door slid open and Sasami and Liana turned to look.  They both gasped.  A tall, hooded figure in a dark cloak stood filling the doorway.  It slowly looked around the compartment.  Ryo-ohki growled and it turned to look at her (at least Sasami thought it did, she couldn't see its face).  Its gaze moved up from Ryo-ohki to Sasami.  It stared for a moment then made a high hissing sound like it was drawing a large breath.  The compartment turned ice cold.  The bottom of the train felt like it had fallen out from under her.  Liana moaned and Ryo-ohki whimpered and cowered in Sasami's lap.  The world turned hazy, like she was seeing it through a thick fog.  She could hear people shouting in the distance and what sounded like explosions.  She could see the dark figure, hear its high, hissing breath, but it seemed far off, like a dream.  The shouting and explosions were coming closer, becoming much more real.  The cold enveloped her, seeping into her skin and wrapping itself around her heart.

          "Tsunami," she whispered, "what's going on?  I'm scared."

          The world exploded as the compartment was flooded with an intense green light.  The hooded figure covered its face and turned back down the corridor.  The light faded back to its original soft glow and the world returned to normal.  Warmth flooded back into the room and the shouting faded.  Sasami sat there for a moment, shivering and wondering just what had happened.  Liana was still shaking.  She hugged herself and slowly looked up at Sasami.

          "What did you do?  Why did it leave?"

          Sasami was silent for a moment.  What had she done?

          "I don't know," she finally said.

          A minute later the lights came back on and the train started moving again.  Sasami sat there, slowly petting Ryo-ohki and watching the rain as it fell past the window in long streaks.  Neither of them spoke for the rest of the journey.

          Finally a voice sounded throughout the train:  "We will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes time.  Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

          Sasami's stomach lurched with excited nerves, the cloaked figure temporarily forgotten.  Liana began nervously fidgeting with her robes.  The train began to slow down and eventually came to a stop.  Ryo-ohki climbed onto Sasami's head and they joined the throng of students climbing off the train.  They stepped onto the dark platform into the freezing, driving rain.  Sasami shivered and drew her robes tight around her.  A lamp bobbed over their heads and she heard a loud, booming voice shout, "Firs' years this way!"

          She looked up over the sea of students and saw the largest man she had ever seen towering over them.  His hair was scraggly and long and his face was almost completely covered with a great, tangled beard.  He wore a huge, ratty brown overcoat that was covered with pockets.  Sasami and Liana timidly made their way toward him, along with a large crowd of other frightened looking first years.

          "All righ' you three?"  The giant said to someone behind them.

          They turned around and saw Harry and some of his friends waving at the large man.  To Liana's dismay they were quickly carried away by the crowd of older students moving down the platform.

          The giant turned back to the group of students gathered around him and said, "Any more firs' years?  All righ' then, follow me.  Mind your step!"

          He led them off the platform and down a narrow, slick path that seemed to be bordered on both sides by trees.  Sasami couldn't really tell through the stinging rain.  Nobody spoke as they slipped and stumbled down the path.  Ryo-ohki meowed pitifully on Sasami's head.  She pulled her down and wrapped her tightly in her robes.

          "Yeh'll get yer firs' look o' Hogwarts in a minute," the giant said.  "Though I don' know how much yeh'll see in this rain," he added.

          The path opened up as they rounded a corner and came to the shore of a large black lake.  A few students "oohed" and Sasami looked up.  Atop a high mountain on the other side of the lake she could see the dim outline of a huge castle with many towers and turrets, its windows sparkling despite the heavy rain.  Sasami suddenly wanted nothing more than to be inside its warm, dry walls.

          The giant led them down to the shore, where a fleet of small wooden boats waited.

          "All righ'," he said.  "No more'n four to a boat."

          Sasami and Liana climbed into a boat with two boys.  They looked out over the rough waters and exchanged nervous glances with each other.

          "They're going to make us cross that?" said one of the boys.  He was tall and skinny with scraggly dark hair and sharp eyes.  The other was shorter, with sandy blond hair that looked almost black because of the rain.

          "They must know what they're doing" Sasami said, not completely believing herself.

          Liana nervously nodded her agreement.  She was looking very green.

          The boy sneered and looked back out at the lake.  "If anything happens my parents will hear about it, that's for sure."

          "Everybody in?" the giant asked, who had an entire boat for himself.  "Right then-FORWARD!" he shouted.

          As one, the little boats moved out into the water.  As they drifted towards the center of the lake the water grew rougher and Liana turned even greener than before.  The boy with the scraggly hair was starting to look sick as well.  The other boy, who hadn't said a word, was staring up at the castle, apparently unaffected by the rough water.  Sasami looked up as well.  The castle looked even bigger close up, its towers seemed to pierce the sky.  The boats continued through the driving rain toward the cliff at the base of the school.

          "Heads down!" cried the giant as they reached the cliff.  They all ducked as they were carried through an opening covered with ivy.  They began to wring out their soaking robes as they floated down a dark passageway that seemed to go directly underneath the school.  They came to rest at a sort of underground harbor and Liana and the tall boy gratefully climbed out of the boat onto the dry ground.  Sasami stepped out and gathered around the giant with everyone else.

          "Everyone here?" he asked.  "Right then, follow me!"

          He led them up a passageway in the rock, coming out at last on a large lawn close to the front doors of the castle.  They walked up the stone staircase and gathered around the large, oak door.  The giant knocked heavily three times.

**End of Chapter Five**


	6. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizard...

**Chapter Six**

****

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

          The doors slowly swung open.  A tiny little wizard stood inside, waiting for them.  He looked almost like a mouse standing in front of the giant man who had escorted them across the lake.  The giant looked at him for a second, then blinked and shook his head.

          "Didn't expect to see you here, Professor Flitwick" said the giant.

          "Yes, well Professor McGonagall had some business to attend to," said the little wizard in a squeaky voice.  "I can take them from here, Hagrid."

          "Right then.  In you go," said the giant, ushering the first years through the double doors.

          Professor Flitwick led them into the enormous entrance hall and the heavy doors closed behind them.  The stone walls were lit with many torches and they couldn't see the ceiling it was so high.  A large marble staircase in front of them led upstairs, and they could hear the sounds of people talking through a big door to their right; the rest of the school must have already arrived.  Professor Flitwick didn't lead them to that door though, but took them to a room off the main hall.  They all filed into the small room, packing themselves in so close that they had to take turns breathing.  Professor Flitwick climbed onto a chair so they could all see him.

          "Welcome to Hogwarts," he said in a loud, but still squeaky voice.  "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will need to be sorted into your respective houses.  Now, the Sorting is very important because, while you are here at Hogwarts, your house will be like your family.  You will attend classes with your house, eat at your house table, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

          "The four houses are Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.  Each house has its own noble history and each has produced many fine witches and wizards.  While you are here, your triumphs will earn your house points, and any rule-breaking will lose points.  At the end of the term, the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup.  It is a great honor, and I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

          "The sorting ceremony will begin shortly, I suggest you take the time to freshen up and dry off as much as you can," he said, looking out over the damp and shivering crowd.  "I will return for you when we are ready, please wait quietly."

          He climbed off the chair and left the chamber.  The room immediately erupted with exited and nervous chatter.  Sasami and Liana pulled their robes off and tried to wring them out some more.  Quite a few others did the same.

          "What house do you think you'll be in?" Sasami asked Liana.

          "I don't know," Liana replied, squeezing a few drops of water from her robe's sleeve.  "I guess I'll probably be in Ravenclaw like my mum was."

          "What do you know about the houses?" Sasami asked.  She was shaking off her robe and trying not spray the other students around her with water.  Ryo-ohki had climbed out of her arms and was shaking herself dry at their feet.

          "Not much, Mum never really talked about them," Liana replied, shaking her robe out as well.  "Ravenclaw is supposed to be a bunch of bookworms, like my mum.  I don't know much about Gryffindor, except they're always supposed to be getting into some sort of trouble.  Hufflepuff is a pretty quiet group, they kind of keep to themselves."

          Ryo-ohki fluffed herself up and climbed onto Sasami's head with a contented "meow".  Liana slid her robe back on, shivering when the damp fabric brushed her skin, and leaned in close to Sasami.  "Slytherin's a bunch of sleazes.  Most of the witches and wizards that joined You-Know-Who came from there."

          They spent the next several minutes discussing what kind of test could be used to decide what house they were going to be in.  Liana was sure it would be something magical, like when they had gotten their wands.  Sasami hoped not.  She was beginning to feel out of place not having a proper wand.  A few of the students had pulled out their own wands and were attempting to magically dry their robes with varying degrees of success.  One unfortunate boy had accidentally set his on fire and was desperately trying to put out the flames.  The nervous feeling in her stomach was coming back.  She couldn't set her robes on fire even if she wanted to.

          The door opened.  Professor Flitwick entered the room smiling, he clapped his hands to get everybody's attention.  "The sorting ceremony's about to begin, everyone please form a line and follow me."

          As everyone began to line up at the door Sasami realized that no one else had their pet with them.  She pulled Ryo-ohki off of her head and put her inside her robe.  Ryo-ohki looked up at her and meowed a question.  Sasami put a finger up to her lip and shook her head, then fastened her robe shut.  She lined up behind Liana and they all followed Professor Flitwick across the hall and through the large double doors into the Great Hall.  Sasami had been in many banquet halls before, of course, but none of them had ever been like this.  It was lit with thousands of candles that were floating over four large tables where the rest of the students were already sitting.  The tables were set with glittering gold plates and goblets.  But the most fascinating part was the ceiling; it was like it wasn't even there.  Rain was pouring from what looked like an open sky, but not one dropped reached them.  At the front of the hall another table had been set for the teachers, facing the others.  The two seats next to the old wizard sitting in the middle were empty.  The giant, Hagrid, was sitting on one end, taking up what must have been two places.

          "That's Professor Dumbledore," Liana said, pointing to the old wizard.

          He was tall and dressed in blue robes covered with glittering moons and stars.  He wore a tall pointed hat that was covered in the same pattern, from under which his long grey hair spilled out.  He smiled down at the first years as they walked up the hall.  His eyes twinkled behind his half-moon glasses.

          Professor Flitwick led them up to the front of the hall where they stopped in front of the teacher's table.  A small stool had been placed there and an old, wrinkled hat was resting on it.  It was patched in many places and was very dirty.  Everyone in the hall was staring at it, and Sasami was beginning to wonder what they were waiting for when the hat twitched.  A rip near the bottom opened and to her great surprise it began to sing:

_          "Once upon a time, so very long ago,_

_          There lived four noble hearts, who_

_          Feared they'd soon be dead!_

_          Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw_

_          All shared a common dream,_

_          To educate young sorcerers_

_          With the qualities they deemed_

_          Would drive them to succeed._

_          Gryffindor was stout and true,_

_          And the brave did make him proud._

_          Hufflepuff, sweet and loving,_

_          Prized a heart that was kind and true._

_          Slytherin, shrewd Slytherin,_

_          Cleverness and cunning _

_          Drove him to excel._

_          Ravenclaw did love her books;_

_          A head that held sharp wits_

_          Made her take a second look._

_          'Twas well and good while they still breathed,_

_          For they could choose those they deemed_

_          Would do their best to succeed._

_          But no one lives forever,_

_          (Though there's those who've tried)_

_          So how to choose their students_

_          After they were dead?_

_          The answer was not too far away,_

_          Atop brave Gryffindor's head._

_          And here I sit, to this day,_

_          Filled with the desires of our founders_

_          I'll find a place for you,_

_          And then begins a journey_

_          Where Magic can come true._

          The hall erupted with applause and the hat bowed to each of the tables in turn.  After the applause died down Professor Flitwick walked up to the stool and unrolled a large parchment.  It hit the ground with a heavy clunk and rolled a few feet across the floor.

          "When I call your name, you will come sit on the stool and place the hat on your head.  It will tell you what house you will be in and you will then go sit at that house's table."

          Sasami felt a little better now that she new how they would be sorted, but she was still nervous.  What if the hat couldn't tell her what house she belonged in, just like Mr. Ollivander couldn't find her a wand?  She nervously began to pet Ryo-ohki inside her robe.

          Professor Flitwick called out the first name, "Abbie, Katrine."

          A pretty and very nervous looking girl with sandy red hair climbed onto the stool and placed the hat on her head, which promptly slid down over her eyes.  The hat was silent for a moment, it looked like it was thinking.  Then it called out so everyone could hear, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

          The hall was filled with applause as Katrine lifted the hat off of her head and climbed off the stool.  She ran to the Hufflepuff table and sat down.

          "Borholtz, Paul."

          The swarthy looking boy who had shared the boat with Sasami and Liana walked up to the stool and placed the sorting hat on his head.  It didn't take nearly as long with him as it had with Katrine Abbie.  It had only been on his head a moment before shouting out, "SLYTHERIN!"

          The table on the far right erupted with applause while the rest of the hall clapped politely.  Paul took the hat off his head and swaggered over to join his new classmates who patted him on the back as he sat down.

          "Collins, Liana."

          Liana gulped and Sasami whispered "good luck" to her as she walked up to the stool and placed the hat on her head.  The hat thought for a few moments then cried out, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

          Liana pulled the hat off, looking a little confused.  She quickly shook her head and headed off for the Hufflepuff's table, where she was greeted with enthusiastic applause and many handshakes.

          Felicia Connway was made a Ravenclaw next, and Deaglan Floyd joined Gryffindor's ranks.  As each new student was called up, Sasami became more and more nervous.  Visions of Mr. Ollivander handing her wand after wand kept flashing through her head.  She could hear the sorting hat saying, "Sorry, none of the houses have a place for you, but you can stay in the kitchen if you want."

          While she was thinking this, Katleen Lesserbys became a Ravenclaw and she forced herself to pay attention, she didn't want to miss her name.  It was a good thing she did, because the next name Professor Flitwick called was, "Masaki, Sasami."

          Her feet felt like they were planted to the floor.  She had to force them to take her up to the stool.  Ryo-ohki squirmed inside her robe and she could feel thousands of eyes burning into her as she climbed onto the stool and placed the hat on her head.  Thankfully it slipped down over her eyes so she didn't have to see everyone watching her.  After what seemed like an hour but was really just a moment she heard a small gruff voice in her ear.

          "My, my, you are an interesting one, aren't you?  Very kind I see, hard working too; but what about the other one?  Ambitious, yes.  Very powerful as well.  So, the question is who do I put where?  Oh, don't worry, I won't tell anyone.  I'm very good at keeping secrets.  But we still need to decide where to put you….  I guess it's HUFFLEPUFF!"  He said this last part for everyone to hear.

          Sasami took off the hat and climbed off the stool, glad to get the strange thing off of her head.  How did it know?  She hoped it was telling the truth when it said it wouldn't tell anyone.  She walked quickly over to the Hufflepuff table amidst the cheers and handshakes of her new classmates.

          "I was hoping we'd be in the same house!" Liana said excitedly as she made room for Sasami to sit down.

          Sasami squeezed into the spot Liana had made for her as Professor Flitwick called out, "Necklen, Damien."  The boy next to her turned and smiled at her.  He was quite a few years older than she was and was very handsome.  He had dark hair and gentle, grey eyes.  A large "P" was printed on a gold and black badge he was wearing on the left side of his robe.  He held out his hand and she shook it.

          "I'm Cedric Diggory," he said.  "Welcome to Hufflepuff."

          Sasami blushed.  "Thank you."

          The hall was filled with applause as Damien was made a Ravenclaw.  Sasami turned and watched as the rest of the first years were sorted into their houses.  Hufflepuff got four more; two boys and two girls.  Derek Reese, the quiet boy who had ridden across the lake with them was made a Gryffindor.  Finally the last student, Zora Zaczkowsky was sorted into Ravenclaw.  As Professor Flitwick carried the hat and stool out of the room the doors to the Great Hall opened and two students and a teacher walked in.  The teacher was a very stern looking witch wearing a tall pointed hat and dark green robes.  Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun.  One of the students was a girl a few years older than Sasami with very bushy dark hair.  The other was Harry Potter.

          Several students turned and watched as Harry and the girl made their way to the Gryffindor table.  Some of them pointed at Harry and whispered to their friends.  Someone at the Slytherin table laughed.

          "Oh," moaned Liana.  "I was hoping he'd be in our house."

          Up at the staff table Professor Dumbledore stood and cleared his throat.  The hall instantly grew quiet as everyone turned their attention to Dumbledore.

          "Welcome!  Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" he said.  "I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it is best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..."    He cleared his throat again and surveyed the room.  "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business.  They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that no one is to leave school without permission.  Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises- or even Invisibility Cloaks," as he said this he looked towards the Gryffindor table.  "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses.  I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors," he paused and looked around the hall, no one moved or even made a sound.  Sasami shuddered, so that was what that thing on the train was called.  And there were more of them!  She had no intention of getting anywhere near those horrible creatures again.  She leaned over to Liana.

          "What's Azkaban?"

          "It's the wizard's prison," Liana whispered, "I hear it's a terrible place."      Sasami looked back up at Dumbledore's serious face as he looked out over the crowd.  If those dementor things were there, she could only imagine what it would be like.

          "On a happier note," Dumbledore continued, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year.

          "First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."  He gestured to one of the teachers sitting beside him.  He was thin and pale even though he looked to be fairly young.  His robes were tattered and patched in many places.

          There was some applause scattered throughout the hall, but one section at the Gryffindor table seemed to clap harder than the rest.  As the scarce applause died away, professor Dumbledore continued.

          "As to our second new appointment.  Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs."

          Sasami remembered the monster books at Flourish and Blotts decided she was definitely glad first years didn't have that class.  "Imagine trying to read that book during class," she whispered to Liana.

          Liana giggled.

          Dumbledore continued "However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled with by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his game keeping duties."

          This time around the applause was much more enthusiastic, especially at the Gryffindor table.  As the applause died away Sasami looked up at the staff table and saw Hagrid wiping his eyes with a napkin.

          "Well, I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore.  "Let the feast begin!"

          "Watch your hands," said Cedric.

          Sasami and Liana barely had time to move their arms before the table was filled with food.  All sorts of dishes had magically appeared on the table before them.  Sasami was getting more used to magic, but it still came as a bit of a shock.  It wore off rather quickly, though, when she realized just how hungry she was.  She had been so nervous before that she hadn't had time to be hungry.  There was roast chicken, ham, pot roast, potatoes, gravy - all sorts of delicious looking food.  It was nice, she reflected, not having to cook all that herself.  Ryo-ohki began to squirm and meow when she smelled all the food, so Sasami let her out of her robe and onto her lap.  She found some steamed carrots and handed some to Ryo-ohki, who looked disappointed, but took them anyway.  Liana laughed as she watched her eating.  Sasami turned to her own plate and was not surprised to find that there were still no chopsticks.  She helped herself to some chicken and began to work at it gingerly with a fork.  She was passing Ryo-ohki some more steamed carrots when Liana gave out a muffled yelp.  Sasami looked up from her lap and jumped.  A head was poking out of the ham and looking at them.  Several other first years jumped and screamed as well.

          "Hello, Friar," Cedric said.

          The head floated up through the table and the rest of its body followed.  It looked like a round little monk, and was milky white and slightly transparent.

          "Good evening Cedric," he said.  He looked over at Sasami and Liana, and a big grin appeared on his face.  "Ah! New students, I see!"  He clasped his hands in front of him and bowed.  "I am the resident ghost for Hufflepuff house, you can call me the Fat Friar, everyone else does," he said with a smile.

          Sasami and Liana smiled timidly at him.

          Sasami gave him a little bow and said rather shakily, "Hello, I'm Sasami.  Sasami Masaki."

          Liana looked up at him and said, "I'm Liana Collins."

          He grinned at them and said, "Pleased to meet you.  Always glad to see young new Hufflepuffs.  Maybe this year we can win the house cup, you look like a fine lot.  You know we haven't won in over ten years?  The Bloody Baron and Sir Nicholas are getting to be quite intolerable, always going on about how _their _houses are the best."

          Liana looked at him questioningly, "Who are the Bloody Baron and Sir Nicholas?"

          "Slytherin and Gryffindor's ghosts," he replied, pointing to the other tables.

          Sasami looked over at the Gryffindor table and saw another ghost talking with some of the Gryffindors.  He was much skinnier than the Fat Friar and was wearing a ruffed shirt and tights.  Over at the Slytherin table was a horrible looking ghost with dark eyes and a hard, gaunt face.  He was covered in a silver substance that looked suspiciously like blood.

          "How'd he get covered in all that blood?" Liana asked the Friar.

          "I never asked him.  Not entirely sure I want to know the answer anyway," he said with a shiver.

          He looked at their plates longingly for a moment and then floated over to the other first years to introduce himself, passing straight through Liana's plate in the process.  She looked down at it and pushed it away with a funny look on her face.

          After they had finished eating, their plates were magically cleared and the prefects lead them out of the hall.  Sasami still wasn't sure if she was supposed to have Ryo-ohki with her so she placed her back inside her robe before getting up from the table.  While the rest of the Hufflepuffs went on ahead Cedric called for the first years to gather around.  He led them down a winding passageway off the main hall, then they took a stairway down a few levels.  Cedric warned them not to use the handrail because it liked to grab onto your wrist and it was quite difficult to get it to let go.  There were many pictures hanging on the walls of the hallways and staircases, each depicting a different scene.  Many of them looked to be important moments in wizarding history.  One showed a harassed looking wizard who appeared to be trying to get a group of trolls to sit still at some sort of meeting.  It took a moment for Sasami to realize that the trolls really were giving the wizard a hard time and that he was moving from seat to seat pushing them back into them.

          Cedric led them down a corridor lined with many suits of armor.  The helmets all turned with a creak to watch them as they passed by.  They came to a stop in front of one particularly old looking piece of armor.  Its hand moved to the sword at its side.  Several of them gasped and took a few steps back, but Cedric calmly looked it in the visor and said, "_rakshasa_."

          It let go of its sword and moved to the side, revealing a hole behind it.  Cedric turned to look at them.  "Remember the password, this piece of armor is enchanted to protect the entrance from anyone who does not have it.  The password will be changed periodically throughout the year, so always make sure you have the current one."

          He led them through the hole and down a short passage.  They came out into a large carpeted room.  Directly across from them, on the far wall, was a row of windows that looked out across the storm-tossed lake a hundred feet below.  Hallways led to the right and left of the windows.  All around the room were large well-stuffed armchairs and couches and a fire was burning in a large fireplace to their right.  It was well-lit and very comfortable looking.

          "What are you doing?" Liana asked Sasami, looking at her in confusion.

          "Huh?" Sasami asked.  She had stopped just outside the common room and had already taken one shoe off and was halfway through removing the other one.  She hadn't even realized she was doing it.  A few of the other students had stopped to see what she was doing as well, none of them had taken their shoes off.  She blushed, but finished removing her shoe and placed both of them next to the wall of the short passage.  She stood up and turned back to Liana.  "We always take our shoes off at home, it's a habit."

          "Oh, that's right!" Liana said, nodding.  "I forgot you guys did that."

           Everyone filed into the common room and gathered around Cedric.

          "This is the common room.  The dormitories are down those hallways," he said, pointing to the halls at the far end of the room.  "Girls are to the right, boys are to the left.  You will find your things have already been brought down.  I suggest you all get some sleep now, its been a long day and classes start in the morning."

          Sasami followed the other girls down the passage where they found their room.  Like the common room it was square and comfortable, with five canopy beds spread around the edges and a small fireplace to the left of the door.  A large window looked out over the lake.  Their trunks had indeed been brought up and were sitting at the feet of their beds.  There were also vests, ties, scarves and badges with the Hufflepuff colors and crest on them, neatly folded and sitting on their trunks.

          "So, are you like, from China or something?" a girl with light brown hair asked Sasami.

          "Nope," Sasami said, shaking her head.  "I'm from Japan."

          The girl put out her hand.  "I'm Toni Owings.  I've never met someone from another country before."

          Sasami shook her hand, then gave her a little bow.  "I'm Sasami Masaki, nice to meet you."

          "I love your hair," said the girl with the sandy red hair, Katrine Abbey.  "But I thought Japanese had black hair."

          Sasami had to think for a moment before answering, she hadn't thought about that.  "Uhm, I live in Japan with my cousin, but that's not where my family comes from."

          "Where are they from?" asked Toni.

          "Uhm…" Sasami said, racking her brain for an answer.  Washu had told her what to say if someone asked her this, but her mind was a complete blank.

          "They come from America, like mine," Liana said with a glance in Sasami's direction.

          "Oh, you're an American?" asked the other girl, who had tightly braided black hair.

          Liana nodded.  "Yep, I'm Liana Collins."

          "I'm Jordane Stewart.  What part of America do you come from?"

          "New York.  My mum's English, but she works for the Department of International Magical Cooperation over there."

          "Wow, I bet it's real exciting," said Toni.

          Liana shrugged.  

          As the others questioned Liana about New York, Sasami quietly found her bed and opened her trunk.  She was glad Liana had stepped in for her, she didn't want to accidentally say anything she shouldn't.  She was starting to get a little worried that Liana knew something, though.  She had seen Ryoko flying back in the bookstore, and tonight that green light had obviously been coming from the marks on her forehead.  She didn't know a lot about magic, but she doubted that many people's foreheads glowed green when they were in trouble.  The look Liana had given her in the coach told her that much.

          She sighed and took off her robe.  She tossed it onto the bed, where it landed with a soft thud.  Ryo-ohki let out an annoyed "meow" and squirmed out of the pocket she had been resting in.  Sasami placed her hands over her mouth.  "I'm sorry, Ryo-ohki.  I forgot you were in there."

          "Oh! She is so cute!" said Katrine.  She and the others had come over when they heard Ro-ohki's meow.

          "What is she?" asked Toni.  "Some sort of rabbit?"

          Sasami _did_ remember what Washu had told her to say about that, she had already told Liana the same thing back on the train.  "I don't know.  We found her in the woods behind my house.  Her name's Ryo-ohki."

          "Can I pet her?" asked Katrine.

          "Sure," said Sasami with a smile.

          Katrine sat down on the bed and held out her hand to Ryo-ohki.  Ryo-ohki looked at it for a moment and then meowed happily and rubbed her head against it. Katrine laughed and stroked her head.  The others each took a turn petting Ryo-ohki before moving off to their own beds to unpack their things.  Liana got the bed next to Sasami's.  Sasami hung her robes and uniforms in the wardrobe sitting beside the bed and placed her books back in the trunk along with her telescope, cauldron and other instruments.  By the time she was unpacked she had forgotten about the uneasy thoughts she had earlier that night.  She pulled off her damp and wrinkled uniform and slid into her dry, comfortable pajamas with the large carrots printed on them.

          "What do you think classes will be like tomorrow?" she asked Liana as she slid under the covers.  Someone had placed a warming pan between the sheets.

          "I don't know," Liana yawned as she climbed into her own bed.  "I bet they'll be fun though."

          Sasami yawned as well.  "Yah, I bet they will."  The warm bed was quickly pulling her into sleep.  She hadn't realized how tired she was.  Ryo-ohki climbed onto the pillow beside her and curled up next to her head.  The rain outside pattered softly against the windows and the waves on the lake beat against the base of the cliff.  Sasami didn't dream that night.

**End of chapter six**


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